Jesus’ original disciples were not notable for their achievements
when they were first called to follow him. However, after Jesus’ death and
resurrection, they preached, healed, traveled great distances, and endured
persecution as they spread the good news and shepherded a rapidly growing
church. How were these men and women able to accomplish such feats?
We all know that the disciples were filled with the Holy
Spirit. However, this Spirit is available to everyone; why, then, isn’t everyone
open to it? Michael Casey identifies how the disciples came to this openness in
his article The Benedictine Promises:
“It is not by achievement but by endurance for the love of Christ that we
become open to the Spirit’s power.”
It was easy for the first disciples to love Christ, because
they interacted with him in the person of Jesus. We don’t have
that blessing. Thus we have the challenge of seeing Christ in different
guises—in those who make up the body of Christ—and loving them, which then opens us to the Spirit’s power.
It is in our grasp to live in joy and peace and invite
others to share in God’s kingdom. By supporting each other, we can endure the
difficulties of life for the love of Christ, who knows the suffering of
humanity yet remains with us to be a conduit to God the Father. That
willingness to be the conduit is reason enough for all of us to love Christ,
centuries after Jesus walked the earth.
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