The Mission of the Twelve

Today's Reflections

The Mission of the Twelve 

http://graceandspace.org

Mk 6:7-13

⁷[Jesus] summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. ⁸He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. ⁹They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. ¹⁰He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. ¹¹Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” ¹²So they went off and preached repentance. ¹³They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

THE TWELVE. The Roman numeral XII is scrawled on the walls of many old Christian catacombs. Considered sacred by early Christians, the numeral refers to the Twelve, the apostles who belong to the “inner circle” of Jesus.

After his rejection in Nazareth, Jesus moves on to proclaim the gospel to other towns and villages. He calls his disciples and commissions them into apostles by sending them out in pairs. Each has to support the other and to remind the other that theirs is a communitarian work. Their meager provisions make for greater mobility, and their walking stick is reminiscent of Moses’ staff with which he leads the Israelites out of Egypt. The apostles are not to bring food; Jesus must be their only bread, who will provide for their needs through the help of generous people.

The Twelve are not to carry bags for accumulating material provisions. They are not to keep money, which can make them self-reliant.

The apostles are to wear sandals like their ancestors did when they left Egypt and marched into the Promised Land. In preaching repentance, the apostles are journeying with Jesus to the Promised Land. Called to be men of peace, they cannot force the good news of Jesus on people and must learn to simply shake the dust of rejection and move on.

Are you an apostle of Jesus to the people you meet?