The final sentence of our reading from the Acts of the Apostles today states that “the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” But from what we heard right before it in that reading, we might not expect them to be filled with joy. Just before that statement was made, it also states that a persecution was stirred up against Paul and Barnabas and that they were expelled from that territory. It also states that the disciples were met with violent abuse and jealousy in response to the how their preaching of the message of Christ’s Good News. But rather than being dejected and leaving in shame, they were filled with joy and the shook the dust off their feet and moved on in their missionary journeys. Paul and his companions knew that what they were doing was tied to a greater purpose, to the things that are eternal rather than our ephemeral existence here on earth.
When we feel a mission and a calling from God like these early disciples did, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and we are filled with a conviction and zeal that keeps us going. Happiness here on earth is often tied to earthly pleasures and to the feelings of the moment. The joy that the disciples felt was much more deep felt and profound than that. The joy we have in our faith should not be shaken by a lack of success in our earthly endeavors, by getting cut off in traffic or by bad weather. The Easter joy we feel in our hearts today in the presence of our risen Lord should help us over come such setback. Good advice for us to hear today in the midst of all we are going through in the world.
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