Pope Francis in the city of brotherly love

Deep in the trenches is where you would find Jesus 2000 years ago,  ….among the poor and oppressed, the sinners and those who suffer. And that is exactly where we find Pope Francis, the 265th successor of Saint Peter the Apostle, on the final day of his historical visit to the United States.

“Life means getting our feet dirty,” Pope Francis tells the prisoners at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility today, being sure to let them know that everyone of us needs to be cleansed. Pope Francis invokes the parable of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles.

Afterwards Pope Francis took the time and care to shake hands or hug each and every one of the 100 prisoners in the audience and some family members, expressing his love and compassion for all of them.

“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:36

Pope Francis is calling on Christians to express their faith in action. And he clearly walks the walk. As direct successor to Saint Peter he personally embraces that section of Scripture known as The Great Commission—the last recorded personal directive of Jesus to his disciples:

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The Great Commission
Matthew 28:16-20

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus gave this command shortly before He ascended into heaven, and it essentially outlines what Jesus expected his disciples to do in His absence. Pope Francis takes this order as seriously as the apostles did 2000 years ago.

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What we know about the Apostles

We know that Jesus found these ordinary human beings living ordinary lives around the Sea of Galilee, and inspired them, sometimes two at a time, to come and “follow Him.” It was in this very small area in the Galilee, along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, that Jesus spent most of the three years of his public life.

Archaeological discoveries suggest that Galilee in the 1st century was a region composed of the wealthy, the business owner, the artisan, and the peasant. It was a region of religiously observant and devout Jews.

APOSTLE is from the Greek “apostolos” which means “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders,” from the verb apo-stellein, “to send out.” And so the apostles (formerly disciples) were sent out by God and specifically by Jesus to proclaim the Gospel to the known world and told to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8)

Many people wrongly assume that the words “apostle” and “disciple” have the same meaning in the New Testament. However, one first has to be trained as a “disciple” (learning from the teacher), before one can be sent out as an “apostle” (representing the teacher). Also, not all “disciples” are necessarily sent out on a particular preaching mission (thereby functioning as “apostles”).

The transformation of Jesus’ favored disciples to their new role of “apostle,” occurred after the Resurrection on the mountain to which Jesus had directed them in Galilee.

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What possessed the disciples of Jesus
to become Apostles of the Gospel of Jesus?

The command to teach all nations the message of Christ would subject them to hardships and torture. They must have been overwhelmed with fear. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16

At the Last Supper Jesus comforted His disciples with a great promise: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17; and forty days later, shortly before He ascended into heaven, He reaffirmed it: “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:5, and “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

These chosen disciples then came down from the Mount of Olives, where the Ascension took place, to the city of Jerusalem (Acts 1:9-12), and waited…. Fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and ten days after His Ascension to Heaven, the disciples of Jesus, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, some of the pious women and other believers, 120 persons in all, gathered in Jerusalem in a so-called “Zion chamber” or “Upper Room.” They were probably in the same room where the Lord, not long before His sufferings, performed the Last Supper. The Apostles were awaiting the fulfillment of the Savior’s will to send them “the Father’s Promise” and strengthen them with divine power, although they did not understand yet exactly what that meant.(1)

That day was Pentecost, one of the three major holidays of the Old Testament, which was celebrated on the 50th day after the Jewish Passover. It coincided with the Feast of Harvest, a pilgrim festival, where according to Jewish Law all Jewish men would come to Jerusalem to celebrate the beginning of the wheat harvest. The streets of Jerusalem were overcrowded with thousands of pilgrims who had come from many different countries of the vast Roman empire to celebrate the goodness of God and the bringing in of the wheat harvest.

It was early in the morning of the Feast of Harvest and Pentecost in the room of the Last Supper, that the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles took place. God’s will made this event a turning point in the world’s history. Strong gusts of wind filled the house, and at the same instant there appeared above the Apostle’s heads what looked like tongues of fire which began descending on their heads, imparting gifts. The Apostles became spiritually enriched and felt an ineffable joy and inspiration, full of life and totally in love with God, compelling them to joyful exclamations and glorifications of God in tongues that all could understand. The Apostles were now baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire just as it was prophesied by John the Baptist. By evening of the same day the Christian Church increased from 120 to 3000 believers.(2)

From Galilee to Spain, Portugal, Greece, Syria, Asia Minor, Ethopia, Mesopotamia, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, even as far as India, the Apostles walked, taught, preached and cured in the name of the Lord. Their reward was martyrdom, but their eternal reward was immeasurable. They were truly “Moved by the SPIRIT.”

Moved by the Spirit

And so is Pope Francis Moved by the Spirit. His enthusiasm for goodness, his tenderness for the poor, his love of God and life and all creation is infectious. We have all been so blessed by the presence of this wonderful holy human being on our US soil. I believe the Pope Francis effect will begin to unfold here at home….

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Series on the Lives of the Apostles will follow….

I have just completed research on the lives of each of the apostles and will share it with you in a 14 part series, one apostle each day beginning tomorrow. Before I started this project I could not name even half of the apostles, and knew very little about their lives before and after the Resurrection.

(1) PENTECOST—The day of descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles by Archimandrite Alexander Vasilievich Mileant, Bishop of Buenos Aires and South America, 2001  http://fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/pente.htm

(2) Ibid.