The Conversion of Paul

Just as Paul writes himself to be all a prisoner and more polished by iron than women are by the gold used for adornment, suddenly a light from heaven surrounded him. Why does he not appear to him in the form of a man, just as it was for Stephen from heaven, but rather in the appearance of fire or light?

Because Stephen, being perfect and knowing the mystery of the incarnation, and being harmed nothing by our poverty, thus beautifully showed himself and so ascended into heaven; but for Paul, so that he might not be restrained from calling Jesus God, since he had come to us in a body, he does not appear as a man, lest he might confirm the unbelieving opposition, but rather in the idea of a flash and light, so that he might draw him from the law and Moses. For there also the same God, manifesting himself to Moses, burned in fire; and giving the law on Sinai, he was handing the tablets to the Hebrew, shining with fire. Therefore, it surrounds him so that, having cast his mind upon the likeness of those things occurring then and now, and as if having awakened himself from a certain forgetfulness, he might know the theophanies to be one power; and he sends the radiance from heaven, so that Paul, no longer turning his mind around Bethlehem and Galilee, calling Christ the son of David and man and all the other names of the economy, might be clearly taught that being God, he came down from above, which is why he now appears.

Then he adds wisely: 'I am Jesus'; he did not say 'I am God' or 'the Son of God', but 'Jesus'; the name of the condescension, so that he might confirm the faith of the incarnation, at which the Jews were stumbling. 'I am he whom you crucify, whom you imprison, whom you drag and lead now to Caiaphas, and later to Pilate, whom you constantly call the son of the carpenter, whom you count among the dead, laughing greatly...'

To those proclaiming the resurrection. I do not seem to be speaking to them now; being present, I do not see; lighting the soul, I have brought blindness to the eyes. Believe, therefore, that I also appeared to Stephen while saying this to you and he believed. It is, therefore, harsh for you to strike against spikes. 'Spikes' means the nails of the cross. For just as one, being struck by iron, is being split open, does he not destroy that? For how does one destroy the hard? But he wounds himself; even so, the one contending against God seizes destruction upon himself headlong.

Be prudent, therefore, and having lost your sight, now especially through the wonderful flash of light, consider that for this reason I clothed myself with a body and became a man, so that not all the naked ones, approaching the veil of divinity, might be blinded.

These things: and Paul, being led by the hand, was being led as a pitiable sight, but rather as something graceful and worthy of indignation. The wolf was bound, the rapacious man became prudent, the wild man was gentled, the runner walked meekly, the tyrant among the disciples was being led, he whose hands were stained with the blood of Stephen, seeking to drink the blood of the other. And for three days he continued living in blindness. And most appropriately. For he, having justly protested against the Trinity, was condemned to an equal measure of punishment to sin. Thus, indeed, the law-giver was initiated into piety. And since he had tasted the truth and through experience learned that Christ lives and is and reigns over all things, neither was he destroyed by death nor was he stolen away by the disciples, having quickly been transferred from the law to the gospel, he announced God, the Christ, to all, whom yesterday and formerly he mocked with blasphemies, and such a man was an ally just as he was an enemy; for he was strong in both. And entering unannounced and unexpectedly into the synagogues of Damascus, he was expounding the words of the law and the prophets, not holding to the law, but constructing and comparing from it the Christ to those things coming to pass.