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Most of the gospel readings for Sundays are taken from the Gospel of Luke. In his gospel, and in his Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke loves to tell stories about how God empowers people to experience a deep conversion—to repent of their sins, change their lives, and believe in Jesus Christ.
Think of all the vivid characters and situations Luke conveys in his works: the sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50), Zacchaeus (19:1-10), the “good thief” (23:39-43), the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40), Cornelius (Acts 10:1-48), and St. Paul himself (Acts 9, 22, 26). By prayerfully studying some of these stories, we can come to understand that conversion is not something that we do alone, but something that we do with God’s help and direction.
John the Baptist and Conversion
In the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, we read John the Baptist’s challenging words: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits that befit repentance” (Luke 3:7-8). In his preaching, John showed that a major motivation for conversion comes from the prophetic announcement of the wrath of God. “Wrath” is God’s just judgment on sinners, and…
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