Luke 6:12-19
The Twelve Apostles
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Blessings and Woes
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Reflection:
In this passage we see the rhythm of Jesus' life. He had a balance of His relationship with God. His relationship with his disciples. And His ministry to the world. Some have called this the "up", "in" and "out". If you can imagine a triangle with three equal sides, this shape would be the shape of Jesus' life and ministry.
Before he made such an important decision as to chose those whom he would send after he died, he went on a mountainside to pray. Luke mentions quite often Jesus' propensity to find a private place and pray to His Father. And we notice a few things. He went to a mountainside. We don't know exactly where this was, but it was free from distraction. It is good to have a private and if possible remote place to pray to escape the distractions of everyday life. Notice too, Jesus spent all night praying and communing with God. While this is not possible every day, sometimes we need to engage in a longer than usual time of prayer. Some may call this a prayer retreat and schedule it on a regular basis.
Second, we see the call of the 12 disciples, which are now called "apostles". Apostle means, "one that is sent". And Jesus will send these men with the Gospel. They have been called and sent. We see a great diversity in these twelve. Two brothers, Peter the "rock", "doubting" Thomas, and Judas, who would become known as the "traitor". These are 12 ordinary men who would plant the church and the gates of hell would not overcome it. We see Jesus modeling that ministry is not be done alone, but in fact we should have more than one person in ministry with us. We also see that we should pray at length before we make decisions on who should be a leader in ministry.
Finally, we see Jesus going at once to preach. This is called the "sermon on the plain", similar to Matthew's "sermon in the mount". Notice people had gathered from all the surrounding areas to hear him preach. They came not only to hear him but to be touched by him. Jesus will proclaim the Good News of the kingdom, and then show them how it works. He gave them both words and works. Notice too it says "all people came to touch him". Those who had need of physical healing. Those who needed spiritual healing. And some just wanted to be in touch with the power that was exuding from him.
What shall we say then? If this was the way Jesus did ministry, would it not make seams for us to imitate it? So some of the questions we could ask are: how is your "up"? How is your prayer life and solitary time with God? How is your "in"? How are the relationships going in your life with those you have been called to minister with? Finally, how is your "out"? Is the result of this first two leading you to a life that is always asking the question, "where are you calling me and sending me out to share your great love in word and deed?"
I think if we followed Jesus model the church would be strengthened, and we would see a great many become disciples of Christ!
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Blessings and Woes
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Reflection:
In this passage we see the rhythm of Jesus' life. He had a balance of His relationship with God. His relationship with his disciples. And His ministry to the world. Some have called this the "up", "in" and "out". If you can imagine a triangle with three equal sides, this shape would be the shape of Jesus' life and ministry.
Before he made such an important decision as to chose those whom he would send after he died, he went on a mountainside to pray. Luke mentions quite often Jesus' propensity to find a private place and pray to His Father. And we notice a few things. He went to a mountainside. We don't know exactly where this was, but it was free from distraction. It is good to have a private and if possible remote place to pray to escape the distractions of everyday life. Notice too, Jesus spent all night praying and communing with God. While this is not possible every day, sometimes we need to engage in a longer than usual time of prayer. Some may call this a prayer retreat and schedule it on a regular basis.
Second, we see the call of the 12 disciples, which are now called "apostles". Apostle means, "one that is sent". And Jesus will send these men with the Gospel. They have been called and sent. We see a great diversity in these twelve. Two brothers, Peter the "rock", "doubting" Thomas, and Judas, who would become known as the "traitor". These are 12 ordinary men who would plant the church and the gates of hell would not overcome it. We see Jesus modeling that ministry is not be done alone, but in fact we should have more than one person in ministry with us. We also see that we should pray at length before we make decisions on who should be a leader in ministry.
Finally, we see Jesus going at once to preach. This is called the "sermon on the plain", similar to Matthew's "sermon in the mount". Notice people had gathered from all the surrounding areas to hear him preach. They came not only to hear him but to be touched by him. Jesus will proclaim the Good News of the kingdom, and then show them how it works. He gave them both words and works. Notice too it says "all people came to touch him". Those who had need of physical healing. Those who needed spiritual healing. And some just wanted to be in touch with the power that was exuding from him.
What shall we say then? If this was the way Jesus did ministry, would it not make seams for us to imitate it? So some of the questions we could ask are: how is your "up"? How is your prayer life and solitary time with God? How is your "in"? How are the relationships going in your life with those you have been called to minister with? Finally, how is your "out"? Is the result of this first two leading you to a life that is always asking the question, "where are you calling me and sending me out to share your great love in word and deed?"
I think if we followed Jesus model the church would be strengthened, and we would see a great many become disciples of Christ!
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