When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles
Today we celebrate the spiritual regathering of tribes Israel and the spiritual renewal of a kingdom that was previously mostly an earthly reality. Jesus summoned twelve people to be the foundations of his Church. We know from the time he spent in prayer preceding the choice that it was not trivial for him. It mattered who was chosen. It was not accidental and could not have been just anyone. This was true even though most of the twelve did not leave behind any Scriptures, and even though in the case of some we know very little about their lives. Yet the reality of their importance is not invisible since the Church of today was founded upon the work they did, and would not have been the same without them. The bishops in our own day trace their heritage through a long line of Apostolic succession that had its beginnings when these twelve laid hands on others. It is the case with Simon and Jude that we know little more than their names. And yet at the same time we do also know them better than that since they are the foundations of the reality of the Church to which we now belong, into which we are meant to grow.
Paul tells us that we are "are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets". We are connected to the promises God made to Abraham through the newly transnational and spiritual Israel that began with the Apostles. If Jesus hadn't summoned these twelve and sent them to make disciples of all nations then the nations may never have known the saving message of the Gospel. What was natural to Israel in virtue of the promises made to Abraham was extended to the world precisely through the Apostles. But what does this mean to us? That we should sit back and smugly relax? Far from it. It bespeaks the great potential that we have, potential that we must not squander.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Note the passive voice as Paul describes the construction of the spiritual temple of the Church. It is not primarily a work that is done by us. It is meant to be a natural process of growth, as with a body, since we are together the Body of Christ. Switching metaphors, we are not primarily the ones doing the building. Rather we "are being built together", and not for any purpose whatever, but for the exulted destiny of together being the (one, not many) dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Because of our Apostolic foundations we are a part of God's ongoing project of building his Kingdom in our world. The foregoing explains both why we must not stray from these foundations into error and why unity is such a fundamental aspect of the Church. Seemingly these two ideas would be good areas of focus if we are to honor Simon and Jude. We should be thankful and treasure the deposit of faith handed on to us by the Apostles. And we should desire, invite, and welcome the action of God to help us be built ever more perfectly as parts of his Church. When both of these happen the Apostles are honored, we ourselves thrive, and above all, God is glorified.
Their message goes out through all the earth.
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles
Today we celebrate the spiritual regathering of tribes Israel and the spiritual renewal of a kingdom that was previously mostly an earthly reality. Jesus summoned twelve people to be the foundations of his Church. We know from the time he spent in prayer preceding the choice that it was not trivial for him. It mattered who was chosen. It was not accidental and could not have been just anyone. This was true even though most of the twelve did not leave behind any Scriptures, and even though in the case of some we know very little about their lives. Yet the reality of their importance is not invisible since the Church of today was founded upon the work they did, and would not have been the same without them. The bishops in our own day trace their heritage through a long line of Apostolic succession that had its beginnings when these twelve laid hands on others. It is the case with Simon and Jude that we know little more than their names. And yet at the same time we do also know them better than that since they are the foundations of the reality of the Church to which we now belong, into which we are meant to grow.
Paul tells us that we are "are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets". We are connected to the promises God made to Abraham through the newly transnational and spiritual Israel that began with the Apostles. If Jesus hadn't summoned these twelve and sent them to make disciples of all nations then the nations may never have known the saving message of the Gospel. What was natural to Israel in virtue of the promises made to Abraham was extended to the world precisely through the Apostles. But what does this mean to us? That we should sit back and smugly relax? Far from it. It bespeaks the great potential that we have, potential that we must not squander.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Note the passive voice as Paul describes the construction of the spiritual temple of the Church. It is not primarily a work that is done by us. It is meant to be a natural process of growth, as with a body, since we are together the Body of Christ. Switching metaphors, we are not primarily the ones doing the building. Rather we "are being built together", and not for any purpose whatever, but for the exulted destiny of together being the (one, not many) dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Because of our Apostolic foundations we are a part of God's ongoing project of building his Kingdom in our world. The foregoing explains both why we must not stray from these foundations into error and why unity is such a fundamental aspect of the Church. Seemingly these two ideas would be good areas of focus if we are to honor Simon and Jude. We should be thankful and treasure the deposit of faith handed on to us by the Apostles. And we should desire, invite, and welcome the action of God to help us be built ever more perfectly as parts of his Church. When both of these happen the Apostles are honored, we ourselves thrive, and above all, God is glorified.
Their message goes out through all the earth.
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