Eastertide
May 4, 2020
Scripture Reading:
Acts 7:55-60
But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.
Most likely, all have some event in our lives for which we still feel shame. Hopefully, we learned from our behavior and did not replicate it and sought forgiveness when appropriate. I wonder if this event in the life of Saul, who eventually preferred the name Paul had lasting effects. I wonder if his change of preferred name exemplified his changed life.
My curiosity led me to explore the meaning of the names, and I discovered there is a website for that. Saul1, in Hebrew, means asked for, prayed for. I was surprised to see that, as King Saul was indeed asked for by the people so they could have a king like other nations. Paul2 from the Latin means small, humble, modest. Paul has been described as being small in size3. It would not surprise me if he were modest. I do have some problem envisioning the man who instructed new converts to imitate4 him as being humble. Paul can even seem somewhat arrogant at times. I think self-assured is more accurate. Watching Stephen be stoned surely left an impression; encountering Christ on the road to Damascus change his life forever. His self-assurance stemmed from that experience.
Our work as members of the Body of Christ grows exponentially with our understanding of who Christ is and what his ultimate purpose is.
Prayer:
1https://www.behindthename.com/name/saul
2https://www.behindthename.com/name/paul
3 In the Acts of Paul he is described as “A man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked”. In the Latin version of the Acts of Paul and Thecla it is added that he had a red, florid face.
4 See Philippians 3:17, for example
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.