Acts 9:1-9
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. 4 And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; [not included in Greek manuscripts: it is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to Him] but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
This is one of the pivotal moments in the life of the Church. Paul’s (Saul’s) encounter with Christ completely reshapes his life and direction and in so doing takes the church in a dramatic new and bold mission to the Gentiles. Paul himself repeatedly comes back to this event. Even though he was a persecutor of the Church and “the foremost of sinners” (1 Tim 1:15), Christ’s intervention in his own life enabled him to come to come face to face with what he had done and fueled Paul’s message that Christ welcomes everyone, no matter what their past life has been.
Notice how the Lord deals with Paul (Saul). Paul was a powerful man. He was in control, zealous and determined that he was responsible for the purity of the community and charged with purging every corner of Jewish life of these sectarian troublemakers of “the Way.” He was doing everything by the book, including getting official letters to support his pogrom. And then the Lord takes away from him all vestiges of control. Paul is thrown to the ground. He sees nothing and goes blind. He is given no plan of action, but left in helpless, dependent uncertainty: “You will be told what to do.” Those three days, left in that condition, stamped Paul permanently.
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I’ve included the extra phrases of verses 5 and 6 because they are familiar from the King James Version. But they don’t appear in the vast majority of Greek texts and so are not found in most modern English translations. However, it’s worth noting that they are found in Old Latin, Vulgate and some Coptic and Syriac versions. The extra words have been inserted by an early copyist to harmonize with accounts of Paul’s conversion in Acts 26:14 and 22:10.
So how did this come to affect our English Bible? The first translations of the Bible into English were based on the Greek text known as the “Textus Receptus” (“received text”). This Greek text was published in 1516 by the Dutch Catholic scholar Erasmus. He used mainly the later Byzantine Greek manuscripts he had available (the earliest texts and papyri had not yet come to light), but also used the Latin Vulgate and sometimes translated “missing” passages—as those here in Acts 9:5-6—back into Greek. This Greek compilation became the basis of the King James Version (1611).
Blessing of Chancery, Staff Celebration
Yesterday at noon all the clergy and staff gathered in Saint Sergius Chapel with Metropolitan Tikhon for the blessing of the Chancery. We divvied up the task, sending each of the clergy to a different floor: His Beatitude blessed his apartment and the offices on the second floor, Father Basil Summer took the first floor, Father Eric Tosi blessed the third floor and I went into the basement to bless the archives. We were each joined by a little contingent of singers and then came back together in the Chapel for the final prayers and blessing, followed by our annual staff Christmas/Epiphany celebration. His Beatitude presided over a most joyful and enjoyable lunch, complete with an OCA “Jeopardy” game of his own devising.