Rarely can the Word of God have intervened so dramatically in a human life than in the life of St. Paul. He was knocked off his horse and temporarily blinded by something like a bolt of lightning. The shattering impact made on him by the coming of Jesus changed him utterly.

Paul, in his turn, effected almost as startling an entry for Jesus into the lives of many others. In Acts 14 at Paul's command a crippled man jumped up and walked around to the consternation of the onlookers. Yesterday we read how Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, heard Paul, believed and was baptised. She then offered her house as a centre for the preaching of the Word. In Acts 18 Crispus, an influential synagogue official, responded to Paul's preaching by a total change of life.

Today's extract from Acts records a tumultous eight to ten hours in the life of a Philippian jailer. It, too, brought about a radical life change and was accompanied by a moment of earthshaking intensity. The jailer must have recalled the event many times for those who were willing to listen and in so doing, must have opened a door for the Holy Spirit into their lives. The whole episode is presented so humanly and graphically that we can feel very close to the jailer and his family as they celebrate with Paul and Silas. A commentator on these chapters wrote, "The Word of God conquers all kinds of obstacles when it meets open hearts."