Although I take in little to no television on a regular basis, my weekly indulgence (while I fold laundry)  is watching re-runs of The Sopranos on A&E. Its has been commended by critics for its in-depth character development, which, in turn, is performed by a talented ensemble cast. After second and third viewings, I start laughing aloud at the subtle injections of humor and irony peppered throughout each episode.

Somehow, as I was watching boorish Tony Soprano munching on a chicken leg, I envisioned a kooky parallel between that TV "Family" and the brethren I have been studying in Acts of the Apostles. No, I doubt that Peter and Paul were hanging around the ancient-world equivalent of Bada Bing...that's not where I was going with my thought process (I'm not THAT nuts!)

What has fascinated me through my study, is the exploration of St. Paul's character and motivations - not necessarily complimentary, yet not condemning, either  - by the presumed author, St. Luke. I always had misgivings about Paul, based on his letters, and his motivation to change his course of action by a virtual bitch-slap from heaven above.

What I am learning, is although he had positive qualities of courage, intellect, and tenacity, he was very human. Fr. Steve has referred to him in class as "a crabby kind of guy." I wouldn't disagree. And yet, the more I get to "know" him, the more I like the guy, and find him to be alot like myself in many ways. I am impressed with his scholarly talents, including knowledge of the law, ancient scripture, languages, and other cultures and philosophies. I enjoy the passages that describe him getting annoyed at various kooky people he encounters, him losing his temper, holding grudges, and being altogether normal, not some wide-eyed holy roller. It is undeniable, though, that he had little tolerance for - or appreciation of - earthly indulcences - drinking, entertainment, sexual expression - to name a few. And yet these revealed intolerances (clearly revealed in his epistles) make me more interested in getting to know him. In other words, I'd love to have been his psychoanalyst!

His continual mishaps in terms of being beaten or meeting similar physical and emotional conflict - and his abilty to press on despite these - lead me to think he was a physcially strong person, with boundless energy. Granted, readers are supposed to presume he also had great help from Above in surviving the many attempts on his life. Fair enough, but in his prior life he was something of a bully, taking the initiative to drag new Christian converts out of their homes and beat them in public. How could some little dude pull that off in a world before firearms?

Likely the most surprising and fascinating stories have been about the friendships he and his companions made with smart, wealthy, influential women of the various towns they visited during their missions. Some of these women, it is implied, became local leaders of the churches that were set up in those locations. I am not jumping ahead to talk about women as priests. I am more interested in understanding that if this were to happen, Paul must have been respectful, at least for the sake of courtesy, to these women, and he understood (and utilized) the power and control they wielded in their respective households. In some cases, he was dependent on these women to take care of his crew during times of trouble. In other words, he knew where his bread was buttered. This background information is very different from the anti-feminist characterization he has held in some circles, due to certian writings such as "wives obey your husbands" and so forth. Perhaps his articulation of male-female relationships is unpleasant at best to our ears, but in practice, he seemed to be ahead of the curve among his contemporaries, at least with women of a certain social/economic status.

Although he is dubbed a sociopath by his psychiatrist, Tony Soprano fascinates both his analyst and the viewer with the complexity of his character - his moments of vulnerability and sentimentality co-mingling with his cunning, brutality, and selfishness.

Likewise, Paul has fascinated me  with his outbursts of irritability and intolerance juxtaposed with his demonstration of intellect, consideration of others, and perserverance.