Day 330: Saul's Conversion (2024) AI transcript and summary - episode of podcast The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

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Episode: Day 330: Saul's Conversion (2024)

Author: Ascension
Duration: 00:20:06

Episode Shownotes

Fr. Mike breaks down Saul's miraculous conversion, explaining the significance of Jesus sending Ananias to heal Saul, and how it reveals that Jesus works through his Church just as powerfully as he worked through the incarnation. Fr. Mike also reminds us that if we belong to the Lord, we will

have to participate in his suffering. Lastly, as we conclude St. Paul's letter to the Romans, Fr. Mike leaves us with the exhortation that the Gospel advances primarily through family and friendship. Today's readings are Acts 9, Romans 15-16, and Proverbs 27:18-20. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Summary

In Day 330 of 'The Bible in a Year,' Fr. Mike discusses Saul's miraculous conversion and the significance of Ananias being sent by Jesus to restore Saul's sight, underscoring the continued power of God's work through the Church. He emphasizes the importance of suffering as part of belonging to the Lord and encourages spreading the Gospel through family and friendship bonds. As Paul expresses pride in his ministry to the Gentiles, he stresses prayer, material support for the saints, and warns against division within the community, highlighting the unity of faith as essential for the Church's mission.

Go to PodExtra AI's episode page (Day 330: Saul's Conversion (2024)) to play and view complete AI-processed content: summary, mindmap, topics, takeaways, transcript, keywords and highlights.

Full Transcript

00:00:04 Speaker_01
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension.

00:00:12 Speaker_01
Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 330. I know for a fact

00:00:22 Speaker_01
there are 35 days left because every year has 365 and 330 minus 365 or opposite of that is 35 so there i know math take that it's a 330 and we're reading from actually apostles chapter 9 as well as the conclusion of the saint paul's letter to the romans chapters 15 and 16

00:00:40 Speaker_01
As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension.

00:00:49 Speaker_01
If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and receiving daily episodes and daily updates.

00:00:59 Speaker_01
Today is day 330, Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9, the conversion of Saul, as well as the conclusion of St. Paul's beautiful, powerful, incredible letter to the Romans, chapters 15 and 16, and Proverbs chapter 27, verses 18 through 22.

00:01:19 Speaker_01
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

00:01:32 Speaker_01
Now as he journeyed, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And he said, who are you, Lord?

00:01:47 Speaker_01
And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you'll be told what you are to do. The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one.

00:02:00 Speaker_01
Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

00:02:11 Speaker_01
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias, and he said, here I am, Lord.

00:02:19 Speaker_01
And the Lord said to him, rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul.

00:02:27 Speaker_01
For behold, he is praying, and he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.

00:02:35 Speaker_01
But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem, and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon your name.

00:02:46 Speaker_01
But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. So Ananias departed and entered the house.

00:03:02 Speaker_01
And laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

00:03:13 Speaker_01
And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized and took food and was strengthened. Saul preaches in Damascus.

00:03:25 Speaker_01
For several days he was with the disciples at Damascus, and in the synagogues immediately he proclaimed Jesus, saying, He is the Son of God.

00:03:33 Speaker_01
And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called on this name? And he has come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests.

00:03:44 Speaker_01
But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. Saul escapes from the Jews. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul.

00:04:00 Speaker_01
They were watching the gates day and night to kill him. But his disciples took him by night and led him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket.

00:04:08 Speaker_01
Saul in Jerusalem And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

00:04:17 Speaker_01
But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

00:04:27 Speaker_01
So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him.

00:04:37 Speaker_01
And when the brethren knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

00:04:42 Speaker_01
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up, and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it was multiplied. Peter heals Aeneas in Lydda.

00:04:56 Speaker_01
Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints that lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.

00:05:11 Speaker_01
Rise and make your bed. And immediately he rose and all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and they turned to the Lord. Peter in Joppa. Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas or Gazelle.

00:05:27 Speaker_01
She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days, she fell sick and died. And when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.

00:05:36 Speaker_01
Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, entreating him, Please come to us without delay. So Peter rose and went with them. And when he had come, they took him to the upper room.

00:05:49 Speaker_01
All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing coats and garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed. Then turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, rise. And she opened her eyes.

00:06:05 Speaker_01
And when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa and many believed in the Lord.

00:06:16 Speaker_00
And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. St. Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 15.

00:06:28 Speaker_01
Please others, not yourselves. We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to edify him.

00:06:40 Speaker_01
For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.

00:06:47 Speaker_01
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

00:06:56 Speaker_01
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

00:07:09 Speaker_01
the gospel for Jews and Gentiles alike. Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

00:07:18 Speaker_01
For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

00:07:30 Speaker_01
as it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name. And again it is said, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.

00:07:44 Speaker_01
And further Isaiah says, The root of Jesse shall come. He who rises to rule the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles hope.

00:07:52 Speaker_01
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.

00:08:00 Speaker_01
Paul's reason for writing so boldly, I myself am satisfied about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

00:08:12 Speaker_01
But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

00:08:28 Speaker_01
In Christ Jesus then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.

00:08:33 Speaker_01
For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me to win obedience from the Gentiles by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

00:08:44 Speaker_01
So that from Jerusalem, and as far round as Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ, thus making it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on another man's foundation.

00:08:57 Speaker_01
But as it is written, they shall see who have never been told of him, and they shall understand who have never heard of him. Paul's plan to visit Rome. This is why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.

00:09:11 Speaker_01
But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be sped on my journey there by you once I have enjoyed your company for a little.

00:09:25 Speaker_01
At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem with aid for the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contributions for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they are in debt to them.

00:09:39 Speaker_01
For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

00:09:46 Speaker_01
When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been raised, I shall go on by way of you to Spain. And I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

00:09:59 Speaker_01
I appeal to you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

00:10:19 Speaker_01
The God of peace be with you all. Amen. Chapter 16, Personal Greetings.

00:10:26 Speaker_01
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Zincraia, that you may receive her in the Lord as befits the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a helper of many, and of myself as well.

00:10:39 Speaker_01
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risk their necks for my life, to whom not only I, but also all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks. Greet also the church in their house.

00:10:52 Speaker_01
Greet my beloved Apennitus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. Greet Mary, who has worked hard among you. Greet Andronicus and Junius, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners.

00:11:04 Speaker_01
They are men of note among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ.

00:11:19 Speaker_01
Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa.

00:11:33 Speaker_01
Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, eminent in the Lord, also his mother and mine. Greet Ansocritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Petrobus, Hermas, and the brethren who are with them.

00:11:48 Speaker_01
Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympus, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. Final instructions.

00:12:02 Speaker_01
I appeal to you, brethren, to take note of those who create dissensions and difficulties in opposition to the doctrine which you have been taught. Avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.

00:12:15 Speaker_01
And by fair and flattering words, they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded. For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I would have you wise as to what is good and guileless as to what is evil.

00:12:28 Speaker_01
then the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you. So do Lucius and Jason and Sussepater, my kinsmen.

00:12:43 Speaker_01
I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother, Quartus, greet you. Final doxology.

00:12:58 Speaker_01
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret for long ages, but is now disclosed.

00:13:09 Speaker_01
And through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God to bring about the obedience of faith to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ.

00:13:21 Speaker_00
Amen. The book of Proverbs chapter 27 verses 18 through 20.

00:13:30 Speaker_01
He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honored. As in water, face answers to face, so the mind of man reflects the man. Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man.

00:13:52 Speaker_00
Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory.

00:13:54 Speaker_01
We thank you so much. Thank you for getting us, not just through the St. Paul's letter to the Romans, but thank you for getting us to it.

00:14:00 Speaker_01
Thank you for opening our hearts and opening our minds by this great encyclical, this great letter, this great epistle of grace, of your love for every one of us. Help us to say yes to your love today and every day of our lives. In Jesus' name we pray.

00:14:12 Speaker_01
Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And actually, Apostles today, gosh, we got to hear not only about the twin, the twin apostles, right? Saul and Peter. Saul's conversion. There is something remarkable.

00:14:25 Speaker_01
Well, obviously, there's a huge miracle that's happening in Saul's conversion, where he's breathing murderous threats against the Christians, going to Damascus to arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem.

00:14:34 Speaker_01
But as Jesus appears to Saul, what does he say? Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? He says, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But you stop and say, wait a second, Saul isn't persecuting Jesus.

00:14:47 Speaker_01
He had nothing to do with Jesus, as far as we know. So who's he persecuting? He's persecuting the church. And that is this, once again, here's Jesus identifying himself with the church that he instituted.

00:14:59 Speaker_01
He's identifying himself with the people who believe in him, those who are Christians, right? Who are little Christs. He's saying, that's me. When you persecute the church, you're persecuting me. It's so important, so important.

00:15:10 Speaker_01
But beyond that, here is Jesus appearing then to Ananias. And in this, he reveals to him, yeah, I want you to go and heal this man named Saul of his blindness. Now, here's an interesting thing. Why wouldn't Jesus, who in this vision, he blinded Saul,

00:15:30 Speaker_01
why wouldn't Jesus just appear to Saul again and heal him? I mean that makes sense right? I mean if Jesus is going to appear once, why not have him appear twice and even like kind of confirm the appearance? Well it's because what's this last age?

00:15:43 Speaker_01
The last age is the age of the church. This last age is the age of the Holy Spirit working through the church.

00:15:48 Speaker_01
And so, rather than Jesus himself showing up and blinding Saul, then showing up and healing Saul, here he is sending, not an apostle, but he's sent, I guess an apostle means sent.

00:15:58 Speaker_01
He's sending one of the Christians, he's sending a member of the body of Christ to Saul to heal him.

00:16:04 Speaker_01
And this is teaching not only Saul but teaching all of us this key thing that Jesus works through his church just as powerfully as he worked through the incarnation. So the same Jesus who could have healed Saul instead sent Ananias to heal Saul.

00:16:19 Speaker_01
I mean obviously he healed Saul through Ananias but This is so important for us. Again, we can sometimes think it's just Jesus and me. That's impossible. That's never been a case where it's just Jesus and me.

00:16:28 Speaker_01
It's always Jesus in the context of community, and the Father in context of community, and the Holy Spirit in the context of community. It's all about God's power working through His church on earth. But here's another piece.

00:16:40 Speaker_01
As Ananias kind of put up his dukes, he put up a little bit of resistance. What does Jesus say? He says, go, for Saul is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

00:16:52 Speaker_01
And in verse 16, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Again, we talked about yesterday that the church expanded because of persecution, that there was suffering that was happening, and so the church was able to grow.

00:17:06 Speaker_01
And here is Saul, who's the rest of his life, yes, he is my chosen instrument to carry out my name before the Gentiles, and I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. You know, later on, St.

00:17:17 Speaker_01
Paul will say, I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. And in my body, I'm making up for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, the church.

00:17:25 Speaker_01
And we recognize that we are called to unite our sufferings to the sufferings of Jesus Christ.

00:17:30 Speaker_01
Here is Saul, who makes it so clear, so very clear, or Jesus is making it clear about Saul, that yes, he's chosen and he's going to suffer a lot for the sake of my name. How are we any different?

00:17:44 Speaker_01
If God is going to use us, why would we think that we would escape, that we wouldn't participate in his sufferings?

00:17:51 Speaker_01
Why would we think that we would be spared the sufferings that every chosen instrument, every chosen, every beloved of God experiences great suffering? Why would we be any different? And the truth is, of course we're not.

00:18:06 Speaker_01
And yet, those sufferings sometimes surprise us. They can pain us, obviously. They can grieve us. They can even cause us distress. But they should never surprise us.

00:18:15 Speaker_01
Because we know that if we belong to the Lord, of course we're going to suffer for the Lord. It doesn't make it easier, but it does give it purpose, and we know that we're not abandoned.

00:18:26 Speaker_01
Even, yeah, we could talk about Peter and healing, raising up Dorcas, which I love saying, love that her name is Dorcas. Raising her up from the dead is incredible. God's, again, once again, God's power working through his people.

00:18:39 Speaker_01
But we also come to the conclusion of St. Paul's letter to the Romans, that last chapter, chapter six, personal greetings, and we realize that this is, the context here is, individuals, right? It's not just groups of people.

00:18:51 Speaker_01
It's not just, here's all the big church in Rome, and here's all the church in Jerusalem, all the church in Corinth. It is people with names that Paul knows. It's people with names that everyone knows.

00:19:01 Speaker_01
It's relationships, and we know this is true, that the gospel is advanced primarily through friendships and through family. That is the key, that the church will continue to grow, and Jesus Christ will continue to be known

00:19:15 Speaker_01
primarily through friendships and through family. Yes, to be able to have the word of God proclaimed on a podcast every single day, phenomenal, incredible, such a gift. But we know deep conversion will happen through friendships.

00:19:28 Speaker_01
Deep conversion will happen through family. And so we pray for each other, right? Because we have friends and we have family that we desire. We want them to know the love of God in Jesus Christ. And so we need to pray for them.

00:19:40 Speaker_01
I continue to lift up you all in my prayers. I'm asking you to please lift me up in your prayers as well. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. That's what that means. Gosh, you guys, ah, what a gift. My name is Father Mike.

00:19:53 Speaker_01
I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.