It is hard for you to kick against the goad.

Thursday, 1/25/18

We have this story of the conversion of St. Paul three times in the Acts of the Apostles. In Chapter 9 we have the firsthand account of it. In Chapter 22 we have Paul's account before the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem

In Chapter 26, Paul gave king Agrippa  an account of his conversion. The  three accounts are identical except for a detail Paul added when speaking to King Agrippa. There, Paul recalled that Jesus had said to him, "It is hard for you  to kick against the goad."

There Jesus was saying that Paul had been ignoring insistent  promptings from Jesus, even though it hurt him to be so stubborn.

We can use that last exchange between Jesus and Paul to ask if he have been hurting ourselves by resisting Our Lord's urges to do what is right. Maybe he wants you to get some work done. Maybe he wants you to be kinder to someone. Maybe he wants you to give up some harmful practices. You cannot be happy if you do not stop kicking against the goad.