Paul and Barnabas are carefully teaching those who have come to believe in Jesus’ message. They do not pretend it will be a way without a cross. “We all have to experience many hardships before we enter the kingdom of God.” No wonder we all need encouragement and a “fresh heart”.
We follow Jesus in our ongoing hope, joy, and purpose
as Christ is raised from the dead and returns to God, and in the pain of suffering we experience, just as Jesus did. Christ draws us with him from his resurrection, and asks us to ‘carry our crosses’ that are part of the journey. We do not need to seek difficulties because they are part of life on earth. We are not asked to “suck it up”, but to “offer it up” trusting in God’s embrace of love. Jesus constantly depended on the Father, including when he suffered on the cross.
We see Paul and Barnabas appointed elders to guide the fledgling church and pray for them within the circle of the community. The elders would not lead on their own, but in the strength of the community and the power of the Holy Spirit.
A fresh heart sounds like a fresh start, like getting up again after failure, loss, grief, amongst others. It sounds like something more—the ‘heart’ makes it
sound deeper, a sense of transformation within, which is more than just ‘get up and start again’.
What comes to my mind? How do I experience a ‘fresh heart’?
Am I aware of the importance of community?
How do I, and my spiritual community, put ‘fresh heart’ into each other, and offer this to those in need, in the power of the Holy Spirit?
Reflections by Kath Knowles
