Where sin abounds . . .

Sometimes in the Sunday Liturgy of the Word there is a clear and direct link between the Old Testament reading and the Gospel reading such as occurs tomorrow on the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time. Here our Lord makes reference to Isaiah's allusion to the region of Galilee, downtrodden and forsaken throughout history, but to be the ideal medium from which a light will come into view to dispel the darkness and shine brightly throughout the world. This area of land, with its topography exposed to higher ground on the North, was difficult for Jerusalem to defend and was therefore subject to constant plunder from the Assyrians and, in fact, any invader that wished to take advantage of the inhabitants there. It was consequently a poor mix of demoralized Jews and foreigners. In short, it would seem to be an implausible prophecy of good providence by Isaiah and an unfortunate choice of place by our Lord to begin to introduce the Kingdom of Heaven. Praise God, the rest is history!

Go figure. It is good to contemplate what we know has happened since the time of Isaiah and since the time Jesus made this reference. What we, in our human wisdom, would believe to be improbable has come to fruition, clearly not from mankind's intention, but from His design which we scarcely comprehend. So on this date, the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, let us marvel at Paul's insight into all of this.

It is Paul who states that "Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more." He glories in what we might call the mission ground; those places where it would seem that God is forgotten, ignored, or perhaps never known. These places can be frightening and loathsome; places where it would seem that Satan has firmly established his kingdom. But Paul recognizes that this is exactly where our Lord wants us to go. This is where we are to bring His light to dispel the darkness and to be confident that His grace is enough for us and where we shine that light that grace will meet its purpose.

How often do we find ourselves distraught and discouraged by what we see occurring in our world? How many conversations do we find ourselves in which we are wringing our hands and wondering together if the world is going to hell in a hand-basket? I cannot imagine Paul joining in that conversation. Rather, with missionary zeal, he would be taking notes and making plans about how he, with the grace of God, was going to go after this new challenge. And he would thank God for this opportunity to serve Him.

Paul states in his epistle for tomorrow that we must be united in Christ in this grand mission that our Lord has for us and we have seen the evidence of the power of Christ acting through his Church. Let us therefore place all our faith and trust in Him.