When January 25th was my surgery day, I sort of paid attention to the date. I wanted to know if it was magical or special. One particular thing that came to light, was that it was the day set aside to commemorate the conversion of Saul to Paul (he became Saint Paul only after his death – one of the disadvantages of sainthood) .

Most people likely know the story outline. He is literally on the Road to Damascus, when WHAM!!! – he is knocked off his donkey , falls to the ground, is temporarily blinded and is converted. He wakes up a new man, no longer governed by anger and fear, but ruled by love and hope.

People can have all kinds of takes on this. It is fairy tale nonsense. It is myth that is designed to feed anti-Semitism. It is a word for word historically accurate depiction of something that happened and woe to all that do not believe. Saul had a stroke and spent the rest of his life recovering.

I think what happened was this: Saul was hit by a huge, sudden, dose of empathy. He did not even know what the word meant. He was full of self and hate, and the most compassionate thing that he ever did was watch over the robes of those stoning Stephen. He did not trouble about anything, or anyone, other than himself.

But on that Road to Damascus something happened. He felt everybody’s pain and grief and fear. It was so sudden, and so overwhelming, that it was indeed like a blinding flash of light that was so powerful that it knocked him unconscious. When he came to, he found that this new found pain and grief and fear was actually very empowering. By knowing what someone else was experiencing was to know what had to be done to help them, and to help them, was to love them. And to love them, was to allow you to love God and experience his love for you. That is liberating. It matters not if your religious symbol is a crescent moon, or a star, the outline of a fish, the sun, nothing at all, or even a bar of gold. It applies to everybody.

Haiti, Africa, the streets of the world’s cities, First Nations Reserves, the fisheries of Newfoundland, the poppy fields of Afghanistan ….. the list overwhelms and has no end.. But if we can be hit with a little of Saul / Paul’s bolt of lightning every day, the planet would be so much better.