Epistle to the Future

Grace and peace to you, whoever you may be.

My name is Paul, and I’m a simple messenger of Jesus Christ. But this wasn’t always my vocation, just as Paul wasn’t always my name. I used to be called Saul, after the great Israelite king from the tribe of Benjamin. That was truly a lifetime ago…

I was born in the city of Tarsus, in southern Turkey, during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Though I never met Jesus in his bodily form, we walked the earth at the same time. The Tarsus of my childhood was a vibrant center of commercial, intellectual, and religious life, a unique place where Jews and Greeks mingled peacefully under Roman rule. It was there that I was brought up as a proud Jew in the tradition of the Pharisees. We loved our people’s history and writings, and when it came to the Law of Moses, we did everything by the book, and then some! I was a bright and zealous young man, a dedicated student of the law with a great future ahead of me. Many expected me to become a powerful Rabbi. Then my life was changed forever.

It started when I oversaw the killing of Stephen, a member of an upstart group claiming allegiance to a radical teacher named Jesus from the backwater town of Nazareth. Stephen had been brought before the Jewish council on charges of blasphemy. He claimed that this Jesus was the messiah foretold by the prophets, and then accused the elders of murdering him! How could such an uneducated man use our own scriptures against us? The council was enraged at Stephen’s audacity—such talk had to be snuffed out! A mob formed, we dragged him out of the city gates, and it fell on me to approve his stoning. Filled with a fiery sense of righteous anger, I allowed Stephen to be stoned to death.

But in the following days, I began to doubt myself. Stephen had interpreted the scriptures with such wisdom and clarity. There were reports that he’d worked signs and miracles before being dragged before the council. And then there was the look on his face even as the stones were falling… he seemed utterly at peace, almost angelic! How could anyone face death with such confidence? Had I wrongly allowed this man to be brutally murdered? Who was this suffering Jesus, and why did his followers love him—and each other—so much? These questions gnawed at my soul even as I approached the city of Damascus to round up more Jesus-followers. Suddenly, I was engulfed in pure blinding light, and I fell from my horse. Then, I heard the voice, and it spoke in the Hebrew dialect of my childhood:

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

“Who are you, Lord?”, I asked.

I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you have to do.

Weak and still unable to see, I was led into Damascus, where I was received graciously by the very Christians I had been plotting to arrest. They called me brother, and prayed for me! In that moment, I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and my life’s mission was revealed in a flash: to share the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ, not only with my own Jewish people, but with Gentiles as well! This message was for everyone; I could see that now, clear as day! My physical sight returned, and I was tended to by my newfound friends. From then on, I would be known as Paul the Apostle.

Needless to say, this turn of events didn’t go over well with the Jewish authorities, and the next thing you know, I was being lowered down the city wall in a basket to escape a plot against my life. Waiting quietly in that basket, under the cover of night, I found that I did not fear death. On the contrary, that was when my life truly started! In the almost thirty years since then, I have traveled the known world, preaching to anyone who will listen, explaining Christ in any way that people will understand. It hasn’t been easy. Many find the mystery of the cross to be offensive or foolish. In the course of my mission, I’ve been imprisoned, beaten, stoned, robbed, shipwrecked, sleepless, cold, and starving. I’ve been close to death countless times, but through it all, I’ve always felt a deep and inexplicable peace. My happiness comes from the simple faith of Christ, not from my physical situation. God is with me, so I don’t think much of these troubles, just as I don’t think much of old Saul and his legalistic ways.

But I haven’t told you about the best part. Along the way, I’ve founded and cared for many churches. It’s my crowning joy to see my brothers and sisters in Christ established and growing in their faith. They are the proof of my life’s work! And though I can’t always be with my friends in person, I maintain contact by writing them letters. I’ve written so many letters, full of my thoughts, emotions, and prayers for my fellow-Christians. Maybe one day someone will collect at least some of these letters and preserve them in a book…

Speaking of my body of work, the one idea I always emphasize in my writing is that spiritual transformation is a social activity. Christ has a body made up of living, breathing, human beings, and we’re all learning and growing alongside each other. And just like a physical body has many different parts, each with an essential function, so Christ’s body is composed of a diversity of people, each with gifts and perspectives that enrich the whole. Our world today is divided along the lines of Jew vs. Greek, slave vs. free, and male vs. female, but in Christ, we are all one, held together by a love beyond ourselves. This is the truth I have fought for since my conversion all those years ago. Once I even had an argument with our brother Peter about it, but I think he’s come around since then. Slowly but surely, a new humanity is being born, and all of creation is waiting for it to happen!

Now I’m under house arrest here in Rome, yet again awaiting trial as a “disturber of the peace”. But this time feels different. I’ve run my race, and I think the finish line may be in sight. Either way, I’m grateful for the time to write more letters. And so I conclude this letter to you, future reader. Has the love of Christ turned your life around? Have you left behind your old self, as I did, in exchange for your true nature as a child of God? How is the world divided in your day? And how is the gospel bridging those gaps? I trust and pray that God will answer these and many more questions for you.

Please, give my greetings to those around you, and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.