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Gospel: Luke 6: 12-19
Jesus departed 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:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground.
A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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One of the remarkable traits of Jesus was his ability to bring vastly different people together, uniting them under a single mission.
For example, in today’s Gospel he calls the Twelve Apostles. Some of these men would’ve never been friends without the Lord; quite the opposite.
Consider Simon and Matthew.
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Simon was a member of the Zealot party, a group of Jewish patriots who viewed the Roman Empire as an invading force that stole their freedom. They wanted independence and would do almost anything for it.
Then there’s Matthew, also a Jew, who served the Roman Empire as a tax-collector. Matthew would’ve been seen by Simon as being in cahoots with the enemy.
Somehow, Jesus brought these men together, uniting them under a single mission – the salvation of souls.
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That’s what the Holy Spirit still does today.
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The Spirit fosters harmony; inspires forgiveness; heals wounded hearts; and enables people with divergent – even conflicting – views to set aside their differences, to work together, and to build the Kingdom of God.
In what ways has the Holy Spirit made me a kinder, more inclusive, less judgmental person?
How do I work with others – including those who are different from me – to build up God’s kingdom at home, at work, in this parish, and in the broader community?
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May the same Lord, who inspired a diverse group of people to work together in the beginning, inspire us to continue doing good work together today.
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Image credits: (1) Living Bulwark (2) Commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, Domenico Ghirlandaio (3) Encourage Yourself in the Lord, WordPress