The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to respond to the call of the Spirit to activate our role as priest, prophet, and leader in the Body of Christ.
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians declares us citizens with the saints and one in Christ.
* [2:11–22] The Gentiles lacked Israel’s messianic expectation, lacked the various covenants God made with Israel, lacked hope of salvation and knowledge of the true God (Eph 2:11–12); but through Christ all these religious barriers between Jew and Gentile have been transcended (Eph 2:13–14) by the abolition of the Mosaic covenant-law (Eph 2:15) for the sake of uniting Jew and Gentile into a single religious community (Eph 2:15–16), imbued with the same holy Spirit and worshiping the same Father (Eph 2:18). The Gentiles are now included in God’s household (Eph 2:19) as it arises upon the foundation of apostles assisted by those endowed with the prophetic gift (Eph 3:5), the preachers of Christ (Eph 2:20; cf. 1 Cor 12:28). With Christ as the capstone (Eph 2:20; cf. Is 28:16; Mt 21:42), they are being built into the holy temple of God’s people where the divine presence dwells (Eph 2:21–22). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)
Psalm 19 praises God’s Glory in Creation and the Law.
* [Psalm 19] The heavenly elements of the world, now beautifully arranged, bespeak the power and wisdom of their creator (Ps 19:2–7). The creator’s wisdom is available to human beings in the law (Ps 19:8–11), toward which the psalmist prays to be open (Ps 19:12–14). The themes of light and speech unify the poem. (Psalms, PSALM 19, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus chooses the Twelve Apostles.
* [6:13] He chose Twelve: the identification of this group as the Twelve is a part of early Christian tradition (see 1 Cor 15:5), and in Matthew and Luke, the Twelve are associated with the twelve tribes of Israel (Lk 22:29–30; Mt 19:28). After the fall of Judas from his position among the Twelve, the need is felt on the part of the early community to reconstitute this group before the Christian mission begins at Pentecost (Acts 1:15–26). From Luke’s perspective, they are an important group who because of their association with Jesus from the time of his baptism to his ascension (Acts 1:21–22) provide the continuity between the historical Jesus and the church of Luke’s day and who as the original eyewitnesses guarantee the fidelity of the church’s beliefs and practices to the teachings of Jesus (Lk 1:1–4). Whom he also named apostles: only Luke among the gospel writers attributes to Jesus the bestowal of the name apostles upon the Twelve. See note on Mt 10:2–4. “Apostle” becomes a technical term in early Christianity for a missionary sent out to preach the word of God. Although Luke seems to want to restrict the title to the Twelve (only in Acts 4:4, 14 are Paul and Barnabas termed apostles), other places in the New Testament show an awareness that the term was more widely applied (1 Cor 15:5–7; Gal 1:19; 1 Cor 1:1; 9:1; Rom 16:7). (Luke, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
Andy Alexander S.J. comments that Jesus goes beyond all the religious traditions of his time to touch the untouchable, to eat and drink with sinners, to heal the unseeing, those who can't hear, and to give freedom to those paralyzed. Ultimately, in self-sacrificing love, he is literally broken and poured out to free us from the power of sin and death.
Jesus sends us to do the same. We are to do it in our lives, in our world. We can continually examine how we can be more like him, in all the relationships of our lives. Forgoing severity and judgment, we can move in the direction of mercy and inclusion and reconciliation. We can ask, Who needs the healing power of our loving attention? We can notice and have feelings for those on the margins, those who suffer, those handicapped by systemic social injustice. We can surrender our busy indifference to those in need around us, and grow in compassion that allows us to be better advocates for the voiceless. It will change the way we see people, the way we listen to those who are different or even think differently, the way we listen to the news, the way we vote and participate in representative democracies. And, on a community level, together we will be those called together to be church, in the name of Jesus. We will live out the prayer we make at the Eucharist: "Remember, Lord, your church, spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity." (Eucharistic Prayer II) (Alexander, 2022)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus chose fishermen and tax collectors to be apostles,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"It says, 'He called his disciples, and he chose twelve of them,' whom he appointed sowers of the faith, to spread the help of human salvation throughout the world. At the same time, observe the heavenly counsel. He chose not wise men, nor rich men, nor nobles, but fishermen and tax collectors, whom he would direct, lest they seem to have seduced some by wisdom, or bought them with riches, or attracted them to their own grace with the authority of power and nobility. He did this so that the reasoning of truth, not the grace of disputation, should prevail."(excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 5.44) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 6:12-16 comments that we admire these first disciples, who made the bold choice to follow Jesus. And of course, we honor the apostles, who carried Jesus’ message to the ends of the earth and became the foundation of the Church. But don’t forget that Jesus also calls us to be “fellow citizens” with Sts. Simon and Jude and “members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
Jesus calls you to himself, just as he called his first disciples. He wants you to be with him and learn from him. Every day you have a choice. As you spend time with him, your heart will be warmed by his love. Your desire to share his love with other people will grow. Little by little, Jesus will shape you into a living stone so that you can do your part to build up the Church.
“Jesus, thank you for calling me to yourself. Use me, Lord, to proclaim your love.” (Meditation on Luke 6:12-16, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the message in Ephesians about the foundation of the apostles in the Church and the Body of Christ. Luke presents the standard list of apostles to underline the importance of building up the Church. Friar Jude reminds us about following Jesus' prayer to attend to the will of the Father.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Zen priest and activist angel Kyodo williams who writes about living with a nonviolent “warrior-spirit” inspired by the Buddha.
Does this mean that in order to live with more joy and grace and less fear and anger we need to run out and take up arms or develop aggressiveness and a warlike stance? Not at all. What we want to do is embody the spirit of a warrior and bring that to function in our daily lives. “Spirit” refers to that which gives life. “Warriors” live a life of action and clear direction. We can bring warrior-spirit to the cause of peace and harmonious connection because it is about life and living, not power and aggression. . . . Warrior-spirit is a frame of mind that lets us make a habit of cultivating the qualities and skills that are already available to all of us. [1] (Rohr, 2022)
Valarie Kaur of the Revolutionary Love Project understands her Sikh warrior tradition through a nonviolent lens that asks “Who will you fight for?” on behalf of justice and peace.
What does it mean to be a warrior-sage for a new time? Who will you fight for? What will you risk? It begins with honoring the fight impulse in you. Think about what breaks your heart. Notice what it feels like to have your fists clench, your jaw close, your pulse quicken. Notice what it feels like to want to fight back. Honor that in yourself. You are alive and have something worth fighting for. Now comes the second moment: How will you channel that into something that delivers life instead of death? Breathe. Think. Then choose your sword and shield. You don’t have to know the answers. You just have to be ready for the moment when the world says: Now. [2] (Rohr, 2022)
We identify the motivations within that call us to participate in the community with our talents conformed to the will of the Father.
References
Alexander, A. (2022, October 28). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/102822.html
Ephesians, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/2?19
Luke, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/6?12
Meditation on Luke 6:12-16. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/10/28/521937/
Psalms, PSALM 19. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/19?2
Rohr, R. (2022, October 28). Warriors for Peace — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/warriors-for-peace-2022-10-28/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Chose Twelve Apostles. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=oct28a
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