He Chose Twelve

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Ephesians 2:19-20

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles.  Luke 6:12-13

Piety

Things We Leave Behind by Michael Card

Every heart needs to be set free
From possessions
That hold it so tight
Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own
It's the power
To do what is right
Jesus, our only possession
Giving becomes our delight
We can't imagine the freedom we find
From the things we leave behind

We show a love for the world in our lives
By worshipping goods we possess
Jesus has laid all our treasures aside
"love God above all the rest"

Cause when we say 'no'
To the things of the world
We open our hearts
To the love of the Lord and
Its hard to imagine
The freedom we find
From the things we leave behind.

Study

Luke regularly presents Jesus at prayer at important points in his ministry: at his baptism; here at the choice of the Twelve; before Peter’s confession; at the transfiguration; when he teaches his disciples to pray; at the Last Supper; on the Mount of Olives; and on the cross.[i]

Jesus chose twelve.  Not eleven, not thirteen.  Twelve.  One for each of the

Dali's Last Supper

tribes of Israel.  These twelve became the foundation of the Church with Christ as the capstone.  Through Jesus, the whole structure of the early Christian community and the eventual Church is held together and grows into a singular temple sacred in the Lord.  When the foundation was disrupted with the betrayal of Judas, the community had to be rebuilt before it could go back out into the world and build upon the foundation.

For such a small group, there were several names repeated…two named Simon (one was changed to Peter), two named James (each known by the family name) and two named Judas (one called Iscariot).  With all that time spent in prayer before selecting these, Jesus already knew that Iscariot would be his betrayer when he was selected.  Maybe that is why he had to pray so much stronger and longer for the courage to choose his own traitor.

Action

In Jesus, we are also being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit just like the Apostles were built.  They did not achieve perfection quickly and we are not expect to either.  But we are expected to try.  Like living stones, we must let ourselves be built into a spiritual house.  Thus we would be part of the holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

What is the hardest part of being formed into an Apostle for you?  What are you asked to leave behind like Peter left his boats and Matthew left his tax rolls? 

Cause when we say 'no'
To the things of the world
We open our hearts
To the love of the Lord and
Its hard to imagine
The freedom we find
From the things we leave behind.

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[i] http://www.usccb.org/bible/lk/3:21#50003021-2