Originally published at Ignatian Spirituality
This post is based on Week Five of An Ignatian Prayer Adventure.
This faith thing takes labor, actual work. I can’t think, pray, study, reason, talk, or argue my path to God. I have to walk it, act it out, and labor. In my book, The Spiritual Path, I invite readers to set out on their journeys with God as their Walking Partner. This partner is a co-laborer or collaborator.
The journey is an invitation, not an expectation or a “should.” In the same way, Jesus invited Simon, Andrew, James, and John to follow him (Matthew 4:18–22). Responding to the invitation to co-labor with Christ doesn’t come only after we know exactly where we are going, what we will be asked to do, and what it will cost. None of the Apostles knew any of this. Perhaps if they had, they might not have accepted the invitation.
Co-laboring doesn’t require us to fit someone else’s mold of what we should do or only allow for certain types of labor or action. Jesus recognizes Simon’s skill as a fisherman and as a leader and invites him to use those very capacities in his mission. Collaboration begins with us exactly where we
