Call and Mission

 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 

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.

Before making his selection of his apostles, Jesus spent the night in prayer.  We can imagine how he asked for guidance so that he might select the right people to carry on his mission.  Interestingly enough, Judas was among those selected!  All part of the plan, although a treacherous but necessary part.

Their work began right away as Jesus modeled his healing powers and cured all who came to him.  Later on they would be doing the same.

We might, as Jesus did, spend time in prayer to see what God's mission for us is each day, and ask for the grace and energy to carry it out as best we can.  Some days we are filled with enthusiasm while others find us sluggish and dragging our tails. We need God's grace all the time, so those hours or minutes of prayer are essential.  Let us renew our commitment to daily prayer so that we might faithfully answer his call and be faithful to our mission.

Bro. Rene