It was almost 30 years ago. I had only been in the Philippines for five or six months. By the grace of God, I was given accommodation and part-time ministry in a parish church. Walking some distance instead of riding a jeepney, abstaining from any food or coffee from outside, and saving every single peso for the first few months' stipend, I bought a second-hand Canon camera from a street vendor in Quiapo. Now I needed to buy a flash gun for it. It was almost dark when I went to a small electronics store in Cubao for that purchase. Customers crowded the single-shutter store. I asked for a flash. After handing me over a new flash and four batteries to test it, the salesman turned to other customers. I took the flash out of the packet, opened it's battery cabinet, put the battery accordingly, and turned on the flash. With a whining sound, the green indicator came on. Looking at the flash I pressed the test button. It flashed with a bright bright light. I wasn't expecting that. My eyes got blinded. Felt a little dizzy. I leaned against the counter to avoid falling. It took me at least two or three minutes to regain his sight. Three minutes' blindness!

The feast of the Conversion of St. Paul is passing. When I was in Kozhikode, on this day there would be ecumenical meetings to attend. The Churches in the whole world have been observing for the past one week as a week for the unity of all Churches. Needless to say, we prayed too.

At the moment of His Ascension, the Lord entrusted to eleven the mission of preaching the Gospel. Yet, even before the Pentecost, Peter had elected a twelfth Apostle to fill the vacant place left by Judas. Good thing. But the Lord had a further plan. The Lord then introduced a thirteenth one. What is special about the 13th? All 12 were people who had seen the historical Jesus of Nazareth, his miracles and signs, and had heard his voice and words. Even if they all proclaim about their Master, that ‘He was the Messiah, the Son of God,’ those skeptical would doubt it. The twelve who were defeated, must have removed the body of their executed Master from the tomb to say, ‘He has risen!’ It is only natural for their hearers to doubt that this is a lie.

But the defeated One is also Victorious One. His way was different. He chose a man who had never seen Jesus of Nazareth or his miracles, had never heard his voice or his words, who considers everything related to him as an enemy to be destroyed; who had set out to eliminate his memory through silencing his followers. He made this man His powerful spokesperson, by blinding him for three days. Therefore, the testimony of the 13th Apostle was different from that of the 12. He had to say, "I never saw him; I never heard him; I never touched him; but I had experienced His resurrection'. In the summit of his vigorous youthfulness, he had walked by faith for the first time, and not by sight.

"We walk by faith, not by sight," later on he would make this powerful statement.

He traveled more than ten thousand miles on five international journeys; authored 13 out of 27 books of the New Testament.

Despite countless persecutions, stonings, beatings, lashings imprisonments, and shipwrecks, despite hunger, starvation, and sleeplessness, despite days spent drifting at sea, despite earning a living by working with his own hands, he dismissed all that as mere refuse. He said that faith in Christ was worth more than all of them, and finally even received the baptism of the blood by beheading.

Thus, the one who came the last became the first of all -even though he didn't want it!