AN UNLIKELY GROUP

This past week we Americans have been following the news of President Trump’s selecting members for his cabinet. Also during this week NFL football fans have been following the news of several football teams choosing new coaches and new general managers.

So it seemed very appropriate that this past Friday’s gospel at mass presented Jesus’ choosing his twelve apostles.

Father Edwin, our school’s Headmaster, gave an interesting reflection to our students about Jesus choosing the apostles. Fr. Ed posed this question: How many people did Jesus have to ask before he found twelve who would accept his invitation? Maybe there were a lot of people who Jesus asked, but who found excuses for not following him.

What is interesting is that the twelve that Jesus wound up with are hardly a model group. There was Peter who would three times deny that he even knew Jesus. There were James and his brother John whom Jesus nicknamed “Boanerges,” or “Sons of Thunder” — in other words, “ Bigmouths.” There was Thomas who was constantly doubting everything, and then that unlikely pair: Matthew (who collected taxes for the Romans), and Judas  (a militant “Zealot” who wanted to expel the Romans by force). And finally, let’s not forget Judas Iscariot, who would betray his Master for a few pieces of silver.

There is no record of Jesus’ having done any job interviews or background checks when he was choosing this group on whom He would depend to spread his Gospel of love to the world.

This is good news here for us today: The same Jesus who selected those unlikely first apostles has chosen you and me as well. We are to carry on their mission of announcing the Good News of the Kingdom. We do this less dramatically, of course, simply by living lives of Christ-like love.

No matter what our shortcomings, then, they can’t be any worse than those of the first apostles. The Lord can work with our shortcomings as well, and may even be able to use them to help spread the Gospel. Why not?

So there are no excuses. We are each called personally by Jesus to be apostles, and sent to be preachers of the Word.