By Paul E. Tupper
When I was a kid, one of my favorite television shows was the “Six Million Dollar Man.” It was a show about a man who could perform super-human feats. He could run faster than a car. He could lift incredibly heavy things. He was far stronger than any other person. Yet, he didn’t look particularly fast or strong. In fact, he looked like any other person. However, he had a secret weapon. He had bionic arms and legs, and they enabled him to do things that no other human being could do.
I think we can view the Holy Spirit as a secret weapon for the Apostles. They had spent three years with Jesus, but they didn’t fully comprehend who he was. Even after Jesus died, rose from the dead and appeared to the Apostles, they still didn’t fully grasp what had happened. What’s more, they lacked the courage to speak about it. Instead, they hid in the upper room.
That is, until they received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. That changed everything.
The Holy Spirit filled them with the wisdom to finally understand the enormity of who Jesus was and what he had done. And, with the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, they became fearless. They boldly proclaimed what they had been witnesses to and preached a message of repentance. Their courage got the Church off the ground. They did things they previously couldn’t do. They performed miracles. They became leaders of the Church. They were given strong powers – a secret weapon. That secret weapon was the Holy Spirit.
We, too, possess that same secret weapon. The Holy Spirit dwells within each of us and can enable us to do extraordinary things. Maybe we’re not going to perform physical miracles, but we can draw strength from him to perform acts that we otherwise couldn’t or wouldn’t be able to do.
For example, we might take some time out of our day to call a family member who we know is down in the dumps. It may not seem like much to us, but that call just might turn that person’s day around. We can make a difference if we let the Holy Spirit inspire us, and we act on it. Or, perhaps we know of an elderly neighbor who would love to attend Mass but cannot because they no longer drive. We could offer to give that neighbor a ride. That’s the Holy Spirit at work within us.
We can look to the Holy Spirit dwelling in us to guide our thoughts and help us to act as God would want us to. When we do so, in our own way, we’re acting like the Apostles. We can make a difference in the lives of others, not only by what we do for them, but also by the example we set. We can accomplish feats that we otherwise couldn’t. In our own way, we can become leaders for our Church. It may sound far-fetched, but that’s what the Apostles did.
Often, I’m easily underwhelmed by my sense of what I might be able to do. In other words, I wonder how whatever little thing I might do will have an impact in the grander scheme of things. What difference can I really make? When I think this way, I often end up doing nothing. I get trapped in this loop all the time.
When we read about the Apostles and the early church in the Acts of the Apostles, they were preaching to large crowds, healing people and standing up to the Pharisees. We look at
them as larger-than-life figures. And, they were. But, very probably, the reality was that they started small. When they first left the upper room, they may have encountered a few people as they were walking and perhaps started to talk to them about Jesus. Maybe those few folks brought them to their homes for dinner, and they spoke to a few more people. The point is that, even though they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, it probably took a little time for them to become the early leaders of the Church. But, God had a plan for them, and they carried it out according to his will.
God has a plan for us too. And, like the Apostles, we are inspired by the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to change the world overnight. We merely need to trust God and do our best to carry out his plan. Recently, I heard someone say no one can do everything, but everyone can do something. That’s true – even more so when we use our secret weapon.
Paul E. Tupper II, a native of Greenwich, graduated from St. Mary High School in Greenwich and spent his career in public accounting in New York. His father, the late Deacon Paul Tupper, was assigned to St. Clement Parish in Stamford and later St. Mary Parish in Greenwich.
