“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give the praise…” (King James Bible, Psalm 115:1)

The spread of the Christian Faith in the times of the Apostles was unparalleled both in its speed and extent. It began with 12 men – as many as you could squeeze into a small room – but as a result of their efforts and achievements Christ was known and worshipped within 30 or 40 years, in centres of varying size from Spain to India.

The Apostles were essentially pioneers and as they went from place to place they had to leave each little congregation to the care of local priests whom they themselves had chosen and ordained. They were able to look after these islands of Christianity, set in a dark and often stormy sea of paganism, only by letter writing and occasional visits. Yet all of these communities, differing in nationality and often in language, preserved the same organised way of life and, what is more remarkable when one considers how no two persons think alike, the same beliefs.

One might imagine therefore that the Apostles, who besides much of the work of conversion were also responsible for training the faithful – what St Paul called “the care of all the Churches” – must have been men of exceptional natural ability who would have made a name for themselves in any walk of life.

Apart from St Paul they were nothing of a sort. They were just steady men, marked by honesty rather than brilliance. The same was generally true of the rank and file of Christians. “…not many…were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth…” (RSV, 1 Corinthians 1:26). Yet it was through men and women such as these that most of the converts were made.

It was no accident that these super-human achievements were accomplished with very human and ordinary people. This was deliberately designed by the Divine wisdom in order that none should believe for a moment that these people were really in fact responsible, but rather that it was the work of the Holy Spirit of God acting through them.

Our Blessed Lord ordered the Apostles to go out to the uttermost parts of the earth – but not at once. First they had to stay in the city of Jerusalem until they were “…clothed with power from on high…” (RSV, Luke 24:49) and had received the Holy Spirit whom he promised to send them from the Father (John 15:26; 16:7).

In order therefore that the credit and the glory of spreading the Christian Faith and of turning sinners into Saints should be given to the Holy Spirit of God to whom it was due, his agents were people who were obviously incapable of doing all this themselves. God chose, said St Paul, the “foolish…weak… low and despised in the world…so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (RSV, 1 Corinthians 1:27,28,29).

The Apostles were in no doubt therefore about the activity of the Holy Spirit both in themselves and in their converts. When Ananias lied to St Peter about the price for which he had sold some land and pretended that he was giving the whole amount into the Church funds, St Peter said, “…why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…?” “You have not lied to men but to God” (RSV, Acts 5:3,4).

So St Paul reminded his congregation at Corinth, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (RSV, 1 Corinthians 3:16).

The Holy Spirit was indeed the motive power in those stirring days, but what was it about the Apostles and their fellow missionaries that enabled the Holy Spirit to change the face of the world through them in particular? It was not great natural gifts, as we have seen. It was their complete dedication to God. No one meant so much to them as did God, nothing was so important as the work he was calling them to do. And they therefore handed themselves over completely and utterly to him for him to use. They did not look on their lives as their own: for had not they, as St Paul reminded the Christians at Corinth, had not they been bought at a price, the price of the Precious Blood of their Saviour? (1 Corinthians 6:20).

So one thing and one thing alone counted – the glory and honour of God – and for themselves they sought no reward save that of being assured that they were doing his will. This, so far as they were concerned, was the secret of their astonishing influence and effectiveness. They surrendered their wills to God, allowing him to operate through them without let or hindrance. This was the reason why they in particular were able to attract people to God with such power, for they were burning with the Divine fire of love which warmed the hearts of those who were seeking him.

This self-dedication embraced not only their missionary work but the whole inner life of their souls. Their minds were God’s, their hearts were his, and their wills were his in all their daily life. They allowed him to fill them completely and in them he built his Kingdom from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth.

And God calls us to the same relationship with him: to offer our whole selves – our minds and hearts and wills – to him in our daily prayers and in the Eucharist until, by our own choice, we resolutely belong to him all and every day.

May we respond to God’s call and give ourselves completely to him to use as he wills. May we draw other people to the fire of God’s love. May we work with God that his Kingdom may come and his will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Common Worship Post Communion Prayer for the Seventh Sunday of Easter

“Eternal God, giver of love and power,
your Son Jesus Christ has sent us into all the world
to preach the gospel of his kingdom:
confirm us in this mission,
and help us to live the good news we proclaim;
through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (1)

Reference

1. © The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England (2004) Collects and Post Communions for Sundays, Principal Holy Days and Festivals. Available from:
http://www.churchofengland.org/media/41132/mvcollects374-523.pdf (Accessed 26 May 2014) (Internet).