Word to the Wise
Friday, January 22, 2021 - Friday in the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
[Heb 8:6-13 and Mark 3:13-19]Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. [Mark]
JANUARY 22 FRIDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children]
The story of Jesus' appointment of the Twelve apostles is both a statement of an ordinary occurrence and a theological statement! Rabbis of Jesus time would usually have a set of disciples who formed a kind of executive committee or "inner circle." But everything in the gospels is there to say something about Jesus and his mission, so we have to look closely at the account.
First of all, Jesus makes the appointment on a mountain! As I have pointed out many times, in the Bible BIG things happen on mountains. In this case, Jesus is echoing the example of Moses who with God on Mt. Sinai. There God constituted the twelve tribes of Israel as God's people. Jesus, on a mountain, creates a "New Israel" with his choice of twelve disciples.
Second, Jesus calls these twelve disciples "apostles." The Greek term means "one who is sent to do something. Their job description is given in the text - to preach and have authority to cast out demons. In other words, Jesus shares his "authority" with them. This "authority" has already been noted in the Gospel According to Mark:m "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him." {Mark 1:27-28) Our church stands on the succession of this authority in the pope and bishops.
Third, Jesus picked a "mixed bag!" The group included impulsive, politically ambitious people (Peter, James and John), an extremist (Simon the Zealot), a chronic skeptic (Thomas), a collaborator with the Romans (Matthew/Levi) and the very one who would betray him (Judas Iscariot). We shouldn't be surprised if the choices made for popes and bishops over the centuries were anything but a "mixed bag."
Everytime we recite the Nicene Creed, we profess faith in a "one, holy, catholic and APOSTOLIC church". The pope and bishops are called to speak with the "authority" of Christ. Like all of us who are baptized, however, even our leaders must meet the criteria of a disciple who comes to serve and not to be served. AMEN
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