Not a One-Person Project

Thursday of the 6^th Week of Easter

Acts 18:1–8

Not long ago, I was vacationing in Amish country – a place I’ve come to love for its quiet beauty and deep sense of tradition. One morning, I heard about a barn-raising that had happened nearby. Storms and the wear of years had left a farmer’s barn in ruins. While he might’ve been able to rebuild it himself, something else happened.

His neighbors came. Dozens of them – men, women, and children. Working together, down came the old, and up went the new. In a few days, that man had a brand new, beautiful barn.

What struck me most about it wasn’t the end result, as nice as I’m sure it was, or the amount of lumber, tools, or labor it took. Rather, it was the love and solidarity that clearly went into it. This wasn’t a one-off kind of thing; the Amish do this for their neighbors all the time. That’s the kind of stuff that builds a lot more than a sturdy barn – it builds a sturdy and life-giving community.

As if that isn’t enough, it’s also a powerful reminder that some things are just too big to do alone.

We see something similar in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Paul, newly arrived in Corinth, was just one man, like that Amish farmer. But as we also saw, it didn’t take long for God to surround him with help.

First, there were Aquila and Priscilla, fellow tent-makers, who helped in two ways: They took Paul in and joined him in spreading the Word. Next came Silas and Timothy. The presence and help of those four allowed Paul to focus entirely on what he did best – preaching the Gospel. What happened? The Church in Corinth began to grow. In time, it became an important center for Christianity. And while his beautiful and influential letters to the Corinthians turn our minds to him, St. Paul would be the first to say that building the Church wasn’t a one-person project; it took the effort of many people.

The Gospel was never meant to be a one-person job, and neither is the Christian life. We are saved as a people, not as isolated individuals. When our Lord ascended into heaven, he didn’t say, “Good luck, Peter, you’re on your own!” No, he promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide them (note, them) into all truth.

What does this have to do with us? Well, maybe today the Lord is asking us a couple of questions:

• Have we been trying to carry our burdens alone?
• Are we trying to “raise a barn” – be it our faith, our families, our vocation – by ourselves?
• Are we asking for the Holy Spirit to give us the grace to work together to build a parish, a community, and the Church?
  

Remember the barn-raising. Remember Corinth. Above all, remember this: The Holy Spirit doesn’t just build us as individuals. He builds us together and helps us raise the most magnificent barn of all – the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.

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