The disciples knew that continuing the work of Jesus was going to be difficult. They knew they would face persecution and a challenging audience. Yet they remained joyful, even spirit-filled, at the work that lay before them. They were filled with conviction about spreading the gospel.

How many of us can say the same thing about the work that we do every day? How many of us can simply “shake the dust” off our feet in protest, when someone we’ve been trying to convince of something rejects us? While we are all called to do the work of ministry, most of us will be doing this work in less explicit ways than the disciples of Jesus’ time, and mostly outside the walls of the church.

Spreading the gospel today means living everyday lives as disciples, so that our very lives, actions, decisions, and ways of being express our faith. As the body of Christ in the world, we are the good news, and therein lies the spirit and joy of the disciple. As the words commonly attributed to Saint Francis suggest, “Share the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.”