Luke
tells us that “the power of the Lord” was with Jesus and that this is
what gave Him the power to heal people and perform other miracles. It
might be helpful to us to reflect upon this power and ask how we can tap
into it in our own lives and ministries because it is obviously a key
aspect of the success of the ministry of Jesus.
Power
is something that can be very dangerous – power corrupts and absolute
power corrupts absolutely. Jesus has the power to perform miracles and
yet no one ever accuses Him of being corrupt and is able to sustain the
charge. Jesus places His power at the service of the Gospel. Herein lies
possibly the only safety net available to people who exercise power –
ensure that the exercise of your power is for the benefit of others and
not yourself. Selflessness is the only safeguard against abuse.
Jesus’
life is full of examples of how He sees Himself as the servant of all
rather than the one to be served. It would have been very easy for Him
to develop a sense of self-importance that would have meant the death of
the Gospel, but He did not. Jesus’ generosity as expressed in His
willingness to die on the cross, the most selfless act the world has and
ever will witness, comes precisely out of His infinite love for us all.
Jesus is willing to forsake any thought of self-preservation in order
to put our salvation before His own comfort.
We
live in a world that does not really understand such an attitude of
heart. It is up to us as disciples of Jesus to open our lives to the
grace of the Holy Spirit so that we too can become witnesses to the same
truth of Jesus’ life. In fact, the development of selflessness in our
lives is essential to our being true disciples of Jesus.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What are your attitudes to power? How do you exercise power in your life?
Holy
Spirit, help me to see the gifts and the power that I exercise in my
life as gifts from God. May I use them faithfully for the building of
His Kingdom on earth.
