Paul and Barnabas have been working hard to announce the presence of God among the unbelievers by first setting an example. This way of life softens hearts and enables the Spirit of God to complete His Work.

This work is not easy for any of us; to go out into the marketplaces of our community and to show people by example the person of Jesus. That’s why we come here today to strengthen our spirits and to be reminded to persevere in faith, even though “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

The commandment to love one another is never foreign for the Christian disciple. What defines this new divine love is that it is always directed toward others, never to the self. The thing is, if we pretend that we love like Jesus, He will find a way to shatter our fantasy and confront us with the truth. But if our faith is real, it will bolster of sense of worth and allow us to reflect more clearly to others the person of Jesus.

Pope St. Clement wrote beautifully that ‘through Christ, we, like a mirror, behold the face of God,” like a mirror, so that the command to ‘love one another as I have loved you’ becomes a natural way of living for us.  So, when we hear Paul’s words today that “it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God,” an inner peace should come over us as we realize our life is no different than His and no less holy than our brothers and sisters.

We mirror God when we live like Jesus.