A Mission for All

Gospel: Luke 6: 6-12

Jesus calls twelve people to help him in his mission to the world, and since then we seem to have the idea that this is somewhat select, unique work just for them.  But is it? Is it any different from the work of the additional seventy-two Jesus sends out later in the Gospel?  In both the mission was to call people to repentance, announce the arrival of God's kingdom, heal people of their infirmities, and to proclaim peace to all.  It is, in fact, a mission for us all.

We have come to treat such a mission as some highly specialized task like being an astronaut, but it is not.  We have restricted sacramental healing ministry to such a small elite that over time fewer and fewer people have access to such healing, and that is cause for rejoicing for those who long for a smaller, purer church.  But that is not the church Jesus called us to be - he who ate with all and who compared the kingdom to a net pulling in all it can from the sea.  

And so the message of repentance goes unheard, the kingdom unknown, people without healing, and peace not proclaimed.  So when we look about our world and see what we see today we ought not be surprised.  We the disciples of Jesus have made it so, to our great failure and shame.