Saint Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (Optional Memorial)

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. 

We’re all familiar with the marketing technique of online “influencers” who attempt to get us to try new products. This strategy can be effective, but the most convincing persuasion comes from someone you trust, someone who has already tried it themselves. It helps you answer the question Is this really true?

When it comes to the grace of God, St. Paul is utterly convincing. In his letter, he wasn’t asking the Corinthians to do anything that he had not already done. He had experienced God’s grace personally, so he could testify to it firsthand. He knew God’s grace was effective because it had the power to change his life and because it had revealed God’s love and mercy to him. Paul wanted the Corinthians to experience those same effects in their lives.

First, power: God’s grace dramatically changed Paul. While persecuting Christians, he had a lot of advantages—his elite education, the respect of the religious leaders, and the authority to arrest Christians wherever he found them. Yet when God intervened, Paul realized that his zeal had led him astray. He had been persecuting Jesus himself! Filled with God’s power and grace, Paul the great enemy became Paul the great apostle!

Second, God’s grace was also an experience of his mercy and love. Jesus didn’t condemn Paul for his sins. He led him to repentance and gave him new understanding. In changing Paul, Jesus didn’t turn him into a robot with no free will. Neither did he erase Paul’s personality. Rather, he loved Paul as God had created him. And out of that love, he redeemed him and made him a son of God. Paul went on to use his gifts and talents, his temperament, and even his weaknesses to build God’s kingdom.

So Paul’s testimony is credible. By the grace of God you are what you are, he tells you: a beloved child of God. That grace is powerful and effective; it fills you with God’s love and mercy. It has changed you, and it is still changing you today.

Rejoice! God has made you his own!

“By your grace, O God, I am what I am. Thank you!”

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 28
Luke 7:36-50