Daily Readings - Sat Jan 25 2020
First Reading - Acts 22.3-16 or Acts 9.1-22
Acts
3Then Paul said: "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.4I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,5as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.6"About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.7I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?'8"'Who are you, Lord?' I asked.9"'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.10"'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked.11"'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.' My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.12"A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.13He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him.14"Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.15You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'
Acts
1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"5"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.6"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!Yes, Lord," he answered.11The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."13"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.20Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.21All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?"22Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
Mark
15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the transformative power of faith and the universal call to share the Gospel. In the first reading from Acts, Paul recounts his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. Once a zealous persecutor of Christians, he was blinded by a great light and heard the voice of Jesus, who called him to be a witness to all people. This encounter completely changed the course of his life, turning him from an enemy of the Church into one of its most ardent missionaries. Paul’s story reminds us that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace and that conversion is always possible, no matter how deeply rooted our past sins or misunderstandings may be.
In the Gospel, Jesus commissions his disciples to “go forth to the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” This mission is not limited to the apostles; it extends to all baptized Christians. Jesus promises that those who believe and are baptized will be saved, and he assures us that signs of faith—such as healing, speaking new languages, and casting out demons—will accompany those who trust in him. These signs are not ends in themselves but expressions of the power of God at work in the world through his people.
These readings are deeply connected. Paul’s conversion is a living example of the Gospel’s power to transform lives, and his subsequent missionary work is a fulfillment of Jesus’ command to preach to all creation. For us today, the readings challenge us to examine our own faith journey. Have we experienced a moment of conversion, like Paul, that has redirected our lives? Are we sharing the Gospel with others, not just in words but through our actions and witness? The moral lesson here is clear: faith is a gift meant to be shared, and we are all called to be missionaries in our own way, trusting in God’s power to work through us. Let us pray for the courage to embrace our mission and for the grace to be faithful witnesses of the Gospel in our daily lives.