Family Communion for the Conversion of St Paul : celebrant the Revd Tola Badejo.

First reading: Acts 9. 1–22
Gospel: Matthew 19. 27–30

The Third Sunday after Epiphany coincides this year with the feast of the Conversion of St Paul, when we remember the dramatic and challenging events described in Acts 9. Just how challenging they are becomes apparent if we put ourselves in the position of Ananias: Saul, who went out of his way to persecute Christians, to arrest them and take them to be imprisoned in Jerusalem; Saul, who held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen to death, is rendered helpless, and Ananias is told by God to go and minister to him. He is asked to put the idea of loving his enemy into practice in a way he could reasonably see as foolishly dangerous, and yet he does it - the story is about Saul becoming Paul, but Ananias plays a crucial supporting role.

Caravaggio's famous painting of the Conversion in Santa Maria del Popolo reflects another critical point (detail above; the whole image attached); he shows Saul/Paul with his arms flung open, as though to embrace something he has hitherto resisted. In an earlier version, however, Saul is shielding his eyes, as though the artist was exploring different ways in which someone might respond to a truth they had struggled to recognise. The images pose many questions: did Saul's anger stem from a pride that barred him from accepting the love of God, and is his story in that sense a warning to us all?

Saul has to set aside many of the beliefs that had hitherto shaped his identity; Ananias has to overcome entirely justifiable reluctance and fear. The Gospel takes up the theme that discipleship has real costs, but also promises its rewards.

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