6-Sep-16

Gospel LK 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.
Reflection:
"Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God."
Confronted with the most important decision of His ministry, Jesus turned to God the Father for guidance.
When, like Jesus, we are faced with life's decisions may we always have the presence of mind to turn to God for direction.
Who among His many disciples would Jesus chose to be His twelve Apostles; those whom He would send out to spread the Good News of God's love and forgiveness of men?
"When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles."
Jesus did not choose the famous or powerful but instead, He chose twelve ordinary men. Among them were Matthew, a tax collector for the Romans, and Simon, a Zealot who wanted to overthrow the Romans who occupied their country.
Under different circumstances, these two would have been enemies. But, because of their belief in Jesus, they put aside their differences and came together to spread the gospel of love.
"Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all."
Miracles are not a thing of the past; they continue to happen every day..
Like Matthew and Simon, Christians continue to put aside their differences.
And, as Jesus did with those early Apostles, He touches our hearts with compassion and mercy and inspires us to feed the hungry and bring healing to the broken hearted.
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein