“Cut to the Heart”
Any story of conversion to Christ is a story of the gospel’s power for salvation. In order to consider what this power looks like in practice, let’s bring to mind the conversion story from Acts chapter 2, quoted above. In it, the preaching of St. Peter leads to the conversion of 3000 Jews, who are subsequently baptized and incorporated into the life of the Church (verses 41-42). These Jews were among those who, not long before, called for the death of Jesus in the presence of Pontius Pilate. How did this happen? What could have caused such a dramatic change in so many people? Verse 37 says that the Jews were “cut to the heart” when they heard St. Peter preach the kerygma. What does it mean to be “cut to the heart”?
Just like it sounds, being “cut to the heart” is an experience that touches the deepest part of us. It is a gift of God’s grace that leads to a mature love of God. It is a movement of “spiritual surgery” where God begins the work of removing our “stoney hearts” (selfish blindness to God) and giving us “hearts of flesh and blood” (selfless love for God and neighbor). Those who hear the kerygma (like those 3000 Jews), if they have the eyes to see and ears to hear (See Mt 11:15),[1] will begin to experience within themselves desire for God, conviction, and hope. The desire comes from learning anew, through the gospel, that they come from God and are meant to find their happiness in Him.[2] The conviction consists in feeling pain and sorrow for their sins (and perhaps also fear of God’s judgment), because the kerygma lays bare their guilt before God.[3] At the same time, hope for forgiveness and eternal life grows; because just as the kerygma reveals guilt, it also reveals the way to forgiveness and restoration to God’s friendship.[4]
For the unbeliever who has heard the kerygma preached, this desire, conviction, and hope is the beginning of true conversion and transformation of life in Jesus Christ. The process then continues forward, and may happen slowly or quickly.[5] As he hears more, such a person may begin to love this God who is offering him salvation and a share in divine life. If all goes well, he embraces Jesus Christ in faith. Then he formally commits his life to Jesus and rejects sin as he accepts the grace of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Baptism.[6] Through baptism he also enters into the life of the Church, a life which he is now called and obliged to live out wholeheartedly (see Mk 12:30). He will start to pray regularly, to resist committing serious sins, and to set aside former companions and activities that would keep him from Jesus and the new life he is being called to live. He will also attend Holy Mass and Confession, participate in parish life, love and serve the poor, and seek out Christian friendship. Going forward, the power of the gospel which has converted him will remain with him as a source of future growth in divine love, while he abides in Christ through prayer and the sacraments (see Jn 15). If he perseveres in this Christian way of life until the end, He will receive the fruit of eternal life.
What a profound change that is set into motion by the gospel kerygma! This whole process, beginning with the experience of being “cut to the heart,” is a work of God’s grace. It is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 6: “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”[7]
The power of the gospel for salvation, then, can be seen in any and all stories of Christian conversion in which men and women experience in their hearts new motives which drive them away from sin and the deception of the devil, and towards the God revealed in Jesus Christ, in His Church. Real conversion to Christ always comes through the power of God in the gospel.
This truth brings to mind that this power does not exist only for initial conversion to Christ. It also remains active for deeper conversion to Christ. When meditating on the Scriptures, have you ever recognized a fault in yourself that you never realized was there before, or realized some new way you need to grow in your relationship with the Lord? Has God ever shown you in prayer or during a reading at Mass some area of your life where you hesitate to let Him in? Have you ever meditated on the Stations of the Cross and felt it move you to tears? Anyone who knows the Lord and has a healthy spiritual life is aware of that experience of being “cut to the heart” through encountering the Word of God. When we bring to our awareness gospel truths such as the goodness of God, our creation in His image, the saving works of Christ, or the promise of eternal life, we can stir up faith, hope, or love; motives that move us closer to God. When we bring to mind the horror of sin and its consequences and punishments, we can stir up fear of sin, and pain and sorrow for our transgressions. All of these motives work together within us to “circumcise our hearts,” converting us to God and to His Kingdom, and away from sin and from the influence of the devil.
[1] Many times, the hearts of those who hear the kerygma preached are not (yet?) prepared to accept it. Other times, they positively, culpably reject it. In these cases, for these people, the gospel is not the power of God, but folly (see 1 Cor 1:18-19). Other times, the kerygma is not preached with the adequate preparation of the evangelist, and he does not really preach the gospel, or he is not speaking as one who knows the truth of what he is saying. Nevertheless, in any of these cases, the memory of the kerygma may remain with the hearer, and bear fruit at a later time, perhaps through the preaching of another (see Jn 4:36-38).
[2] Especially through part 1 of the four-step kerygma model.
[3] Especially through part 2 of the four-step kerygma model.
[4] Especially through part 3 of the four-step kerygma model.
[5] In some cases, the power of the kerygma brings people very quickly to the reception of the Holy Spirit, as when St. Peter preached to the family of Cornelius in Acts chapter 10. This is probably because the family of Cornelius did not need much inner conversion, for they were already very devout, prayerful, and charitable; well prepared for a fuller portion of the grace of God (see Acts 10:1-2).
[6] As they are directed to do through part 4 of the four-step kerygma model.
[7] Emphasis added.