Despite the warning of the Sanhedrin to speak no more, the disciples continued to preach the Gospel message.
They had the conviction of the power of God. Once the papal envoy threatened Martin Luther to stop preaching his challenging message against the abuses in the Church. They warned him that he would be abandoned by his supporters. “Where will you be then demanded the envoy?” Luther responded, “in the hands of God.” With God on one’s side challenges can be met and responded to.
They had the conviction of how futile it was for individuals to rebel against God. In the end God will prevail. However, as members of the body of Christ we are challenged to find the courage to respond to those who would speak a message in conflict with the gospel message of justice, compassion, and mercy.
They kept in mind the memory of Jesus, his life and death for mankind and his message that the memory of Jesus should not be just something of the past, but should be an incentive to bring his life and message to the present.
They prayed for courage. The true disciple is a person of prayer and in that prayer asks for the courage to, when necessary, challenge the status quo, to move from the comfortable places in life.
They did not hesitate to seek the gift of the Holy Spirt in life. It is that Holy spirit that enables us to live the Gospel life even in the most difficult of times.
And finally, they were aware of the need for each other and the support of each other for the mission that they were given.
St. Francis is known for preaching the value of poverty, but he did not see poverty so much as a value in itself as much as seeing it as that which leads to fraternity. For if one has little material possessions to occupy one’s time, they will seek out that which is of much higher value, fraternity, companionship.
Image: “Courage” by jridgewayphotography is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.