Sixth Sunday of Easter

WE ARE SPECIAL!

Since the celebration of Easter, the Church has invited us to reflect on the origins of the Christian community. Over the past weeks, the Acts of the Apostles have been read at the daily and Sunday Masses, and we have heard again the wonderful stories about what happened to that little group of people in an almost unknown corner of the world, who had a truly miraculous experience that changed them, and went on to change the lives of millions of people the world over.

Ordinary people became extraordinary. Because of this I am writing this reflection, and you are reading it.

I find it amazing that we know so little about those people who created the early Church. We know the names of some of them, but little else. There are wonderful legends about them, but little that could accurately be described as historical facts. Yet they definitely existed. They were so convinced about the importance of Jesus and his message that they were prepared to give up everything to spread what we call the Gospel or “Good News”. There are no paintings, statues or mosaics featuring them, so we have no idea what they looked like. This reality would seem to indicate that they didn’t want to become cult figures. They didn’t want the Christians to idolise them. Their whole, total, focus was on Jesus and his message.

As the Christian communities grew, rules and regulations became necessary to ensure their smooth running. There was always a danger that observance of regulations could supplant fidelity to the core teaching of Jesus, and consequently there have been movements of renewal from the early days right up till the present.

Now, as the season of Easter comes to a close, we are invited to relive what happened to our spiritual ancestors on the day of Pentecost. This little band of fearful people was transformed instantaneously by what they themselves described as being an outpouring of divine power. There was no turning back. They could not have imagined that they were starting a movement that would go out throughout the world and last for thousands of years. Yet they knew that they were indeed special.

The founding generation of the Church were not better or holier than anyone else, just as those who followed in their footsteps right to the present day are not better or holier than others. But they were special. Special, because they were chosen by God to do something very special, namely to spread the good news about Jesus, in ways that people can understand.

We are special! Not better, not holier than others … but we are special because we have been chosen to participate in the special mission of God. Let’s rejoice that we are special, and express our thanks to God for our special calling by re-committing ourselves to God’s service.