Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
What Jesus had just been doing he now gave power to the Twelve to do as well. He had not only preaching and healing, but also demonstrating and setting an example for the Apostles. Thus they were privileged to be able to ask him for questions and clarification when a parable was confusing. They were permitted to be witnesses to mighty deeds about which Jesus prohibited the recipients thereof from speaking. And now they were to go out and try it on their own.
This apprenticeship model of learning to be a disciple made a lot of sense if the one to whom one was apprenticed was Jesus himself. But we're surprised we don't see more of this model in our modern Church. Though perhaps through the practice of discipling some Protestant denominations do it better. But we can imagine that being present and watching one who is experienced at evangelism, or healing or teaching, do their work before attempting it oneself would make a lot of sense. Yet from the more formal to the less formal ministries in the Church we do see as much of it as could perhaps be useful. Perhaps those of us who lack experience might take the initiative if we know others who have it by asking to come along and observe occasionally. This is just a thought, but it could certainly help us overcome the learned helplessness so common to the majority of pew sitters such as ourselves.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these
If Jesus had had a human resources department he never would have arrived at this list of disciples. This ragtag band would never have met the hiring criteria or survived the background check. In measurements that were quantifiable there were a near infinite number of preferable individuals to these, whether in terms of knowledge of Scripture, public speaking experience, leadership skills, or anything else. Nor did those chosen go on to be always and everywhere successful. Those given the most responsibility were often also the most public failures. But the thing we ought to realize, and from which we should take comfort, is that Jesus knew all of this in advance and chose them anyway. It was precisely on these flawed and human men that Jesus deigned to build his Church. He was not looking for unapproachable perfection. Rather even his leaders would need to learn from their mistakes and undergo a constant process of growth. One reason he chose individuals like this was no doubt to signal that he had not come only to call those who were already perfect. He also headed off the expectation that the call to discipleship would result in perfection immediately. Often times accepting the call would actually expose a lot of darkness before the light of Jesus was truly able to shine through a disciple. In short, he made it clear that we have no excuses not to follow him, nor even any liabilities that prevent him from using us to build his Kingdom.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
While our own call to evangelize is more likely to be a Gentile focused ministry, like that of Paul, there are still plenty of lost sheep among that fold, specifically Catholics and other Christians who have ceased to practice. In some ways this is the low hanging fruit of evangelism since we already share a common dialect and some measure of common understanding. We don't have to, as it were, reinvent the wheel, in order to help such as these find their way back to the shepherd. Rather, it is more likely that there are specific obstacles that need to be removed before the sheep will return of their own accord. And while we may not have been discipled to have experience in this regard there must still be ways that our limited understanding can avail, and if not that, at least our prayers.
“Sow for yourselves justice,
reap the fruit of piety;
break up for yourselves a new field,
for it is time to seek the LORD,
till he come and rain down justice upon you.”
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