He Chose Us And Is Sending Us

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟐𝟒:𝟑-𝟐𝟏

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟓𝟕: 𝟐-𝟒, 𝟔, 𝟏𝟏 “𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟑:𝟏𝟑-𝟏𝟗

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: "𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬." (𝐯.𝟏𝟒) 

         With the growing opposition of the Scribes and Pharisees who have already conspired with the Herodians in plotting to eliminate Jesus, our Lord knew that his prophesied passion and death is just a matter of time.

         With John the Baptist preparing the way for him, Jesus pursued his mission with zeal performing healing miracles, raising up the dead and, teaching in synagogues. He spoke with authority and oftentimes rebuking the teachers of the law and putting them on a spot placing Jesus in a collision course with the religious leaders at the time.

        To ensure that his sacrifices will not go to waste, Jesus had to find ways to make his message permanent. As media formats such as books, magazines, newspapers, radio and television were unheard of in those days, Jesus saw the only way to keep his message alive was through his disciples who have been with him since he began his ministry and in whose hearts his message is written.

        And so in this passage today, Jesus chose 12 from among the 72 disciples who regularly traveled with him whom he designated as Apostles and it is significant to note that Christianity began with this group of ordinary people who have been together for quite some time and this sustains the belief that faith grows when it is lived out in a fellowship with one another. 

        These are the 12 that he appointed (𝐯.𝟏𝟒): 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸; 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯, 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘡𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳; 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱, 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸, 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘪 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸, 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴, 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘶𝘴, 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘢𝘦𝘶𝘴, 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘡𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘴 𝘐𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴.       

        Just as many of us whom God has brought to the renewal movement, we can equate ourselves with these mixed group of characters in terms of worldly stature, and we see that these twelve held no special qualifications at all as they were not wealthy, held no positions in government or in the community to which they belonged, no special education, they were not theologians as the teachers of the law, and never held even a position in the synagogue.

        The only qualification they had which became the basis of the decision of Jesus was that they followed him by listening to him and primarily because of their boldness to stand by his side in the face of the opposition of the religious leaders of their time. To stand by the side of Jesus, the son of a carpenter from Nazareth, against the establishment requires courage and Jesus set aside all their faults, the imperfections of their characters and simply looked at that one thing that these 12 had.

         I am sure that like some of the original 72 disciples of Jesus there were some who had some reservations about the wisdom of leaving everything behind to follow the Son of Man. Some probably did because their friends who were more committed did. There were others who probably doubted if what they were doing was right. Recall too that the Jews were waiting for the coming of a conquering king and not a Rabbi who preached love and forgiveness.

         I too was in this same situation when I was brought to the Bukas Loob sa Diyos together with my Spouse in 1989 through the Marriage Encounter Weekend seminar. Though I never doubted the primacy of Jesus as the second person of the Trinity, my mind was filled with questions because I know that this new spiritual environment was not compatible with the businesses we were involved in.

        But as we grew spiritually in the community through the teachings, talks, seminars and from the personal witnessing of fellow members and the shepherds assigned to us, the discomfort began to disappear, and I felt the urge to embrace this new paradigm that would shape my spiritual life.

        And like the disciples and later the 12 who were named Apostles, they all loved Jesus and have given up their lives, their families and their preoccupation to walk with him and learn from him and live in fellowship with one another. This was all that Jesus needed in choosing them because this is what being a Christian is all about.

        This is the same not only with us but with all the modern-day Christian disciples who have entered a covenant of lifetime service whose primary purpose is to bring Christ to the ends of the world and the marginalized to know Jesus Christ in a more personal way (𝐌𝐤 𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟓).

        Today, Jesus is calling on not just 12 amongst us but he is calling on all of us to start where he and the Apostles and those who came after them left off. In other words, we are the new Apostles whose task is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ with joy (𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒊 𝑮𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎 1-13).

         Mark the Evangelist may have felt it was not important to record but remember that some of the 12 Apostles at one time also felt slighted by the actuations of some in their group (𝐌𝐤 𝟏𝟎:𝟑𝟕) but at the end of the day, all 12 Apostles went on their mission with only one goal in mind and that is bring Christ to the world.

        It is the same with us. As it was difficult then to bring together 12 people with different persuasions, so it is also the same in our time today as we stand witness to intrigues, disagreements, loose tongue and inappropriate speech that tend to create divisions within the Church instead of members uplifting one another towards a central goal.

         As with Peter who was delegated with the authority to keep the harmony and unity within the ranks of the Apostles and the Christian converts, so do current leaders of church ministries and apostolates carry a heavy burden on their shoulders in ministering to the spiritual and pastoral needs of those under their care. 

         Although Mark did not write about it, Jesus probably heaved a sigh of relief after he named the 12 Apostles because he was sure that he has a group of trusted disciples who are to be the heralds of his message of salvation. And to make them effective as ministers in the pursuit of their continuing mission, Jesus gave them power to cast out demons. Why? Because Jesus knew that the evil one will forever be on the prowl to destroy what he has built.

         The Apostles are long gone now and we who have been brought to the Church and specifically to the renewal are the new apostles who are being sent out to preach the Gospel to every person (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟐𝟖:𝟏𝟖-𝟐𝟎). We who believe in Jesus are the new ambassadors (𝟐 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟓:𝟐𝟎) who gave us the ministry of reconciliation (𝟐 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟓:𝟏𝟖) so that all may have a fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ (𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟏:𝟑).

         Today, we too are being called to take over from the Apostles because the present time is a time of religious decay. The permanent vitality of religion is gone, and the mass of people have become superstitious, credulous or indifferent to religion (𝑻𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒔, 32-37𝑨.𝑫.).           

         Our Catholic faith is being threatened not only by the religious decay that pervades in our society but even in public governance with an organized effort towards the passage of the highly immoral Law on Divorce and the stench of massive graft and corruption in government. In fact, the Philippines some years back even hosted an international conference where abortion was discussed. Indeed, the growing relativism in our society has now become a major concern for the Church.

        This is the primary reason why we who believe in Christ are now being called and are being sent because the Church that Jesus established exists in order to evangelize – the carrying forth of the Good News to every sector of the human race so that by its strength it may enter into the hearts of men and renew the human race. (𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒊 𝑵𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊 14,18).       

        Jesus chose us, not for what we are, but for what we could become if we trust him with our lives. When the Lord calls us to serve, we must not think that we have little or nothing to offer. The Lord uses ordinary people like us to make sure his message will not be lost.

       This is now the issue we need to face. As we have been chosen and are being sent, we must look on our lives as an offering to the Lord and allow him to use us for his purpose.  That is the only way we can repay the Lord for all the good that he has done for us. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘑𝘢𝘯. 23, 2026)