Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
Jesus spent time in prayer, through nights, and in early mornings. He, the one person we might have thought could do without prayer, seemed to make it a greater priority than anyone in else in the Bible. He prayed before big decisions such as the choosing of the Twelve in order to show us that we too ought to pray when we face such decisions in our turn. But such prayer didn't come out of the blue only when things got serious. Prayer at moments like that was meant to work because Jesus was already living a life of prayer, regularly in deep communion with his heavenly Father. We, however, sometimes become motivated to pray only at critical moments. At other times we may be content with prayers are routine, formal, and somewhat lifeless. But if we allow ourselves to be content with such superficial prayer during normal times we will have a hard time reaching the deeper levels we will desire in critical moments and times of crisis.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Thinking about the disciples, we might imagine that they were special because they were specifically chosen by Jesus himself. But this is not correct, for we too have been specially chosen by him. Our call, no less than theirs, is a result of the deep agreement between the heart of the Father and the Son.
he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him (see Ephesians 1:4).
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you (see First Thessalonians 1:4).
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (see Colossians 3:12).
And the fact that we are chosen means that the promises that Jesus makes about those who are his own apply to us as much as anyone else.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day (see John 6:39).
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified (see Romans 8:30).
We should have confidence about the promises of God precisely because they are not are own idea. We are not merely trying to associate ourselves with something meant for others by effort on our part to become similar to them. Rather, it all begins from God's own plans for us, and his desire to bestow his promises upon us precedes any effort on our part. This is not to say he won't allow that desire to be thwarted if we obstinately insist. But he won't easily let us go, and will never stop trying to win us back, even to the last moments of our lives. He is been called the hound of heaven who will indeed chase us to the ends of the earth.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.
Although it sometimes may seem that the crowds were imposing upon him we must recognize that it was in fact his plan to make his abundant healing power available to them. They too were chosen. It was his desire, more than theirs, to heal, to teach, and to set them free. In going forward to touch him they were in fact giving him occasion to do what he came to earth to do. And just as he delighted to heal them, so too us in our day. He welcomes us all to come to him and receive the wholeness that only he can give.
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
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