Go

“‘Preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 10:7).

The Apostles St Paul and St Barnabas at Lystra (Jacob Jordaens)

We have a God of ACTION.

The very first thing we hear about God is that He is creating.  The world is being made.  He is working.  When Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam work – not as a punishment, but as a tool to elevate him from his terrible sinfulness so that he could become more like God.

Now, work for God does not diminish God in any way.  In this way work for God is different from the work of humans.  You see, God does not get tired from His work as we do.  He does not get distracted.  He is not disheartened as we are.  God’s work is an expression of His Divinity, just as He gives us work so that we too can express His image in us.

Christ gave work to the disciples.  He told them to preach.  He told them to go out and go to work in His Name…

“Jesus said to his apostles, ‘Preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the labourer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. As you enter the house, salute it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.’” (Matthew 10:7-13).I am one of the disciples of Christ.  I have been given work.  And I wonder today if I have been doing it…?

Saint Barnabas was a disciple.  After the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, Saint Barnabas travelled to Jerusalem.  He searched for Saul.  And finding him he worked with Saint Paul (as Saul became) s a disciple.  That work changed the world.  And I have been thinking about that today because when God told Saint Barnabas to go, he went.  When God told Saint Paul to go, he went.  And it is the same for every other Saint who was ever born or who will ever be born.

And today I wonder if when God told me to go, I actually went.  Because it seems to me that there is only one way to become a Saint and I am not taking that path.  And that is a worry to me when I love my Beloved.  After all, God does not expect me to ignore Him.  He expects me to GO when He asks me to go, because He made me for some purpose – which is to be a Saint.  And I cannot do that without going where I am told!

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.