Mark 3:13-19a

Posted by DJL on May 15, 2012 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Mark’s portrayal of the calling of the disciples is far briefer than that of his “cousins,” Matthew and Luke. In fact, it is almost workmanlike. Yet the details, though few, are significant.

Jesus goes up a mountain. Teachers do that. Think retreat. Think solitude. Think epiphany. Think, for that matter, Moses – important things happen on mountains.

And he chooses disciples. Teachers do that, too. To be a disciple is to be a student, to exercise discipline in learning, to seek to grow in a particular discipline or subject matter.

Except in this scene they aren’t called disciples. They are called apostles. And it’s Jesus who names them so.

Teachers didn’t always do that. An Apostle is one that is sent, one bearing a message. Not only that, but Jesus gives them authority to do the kinds of things he’s doing, like resisting all that works against God’s good will for God’s people.

So it turns out that Jesus isn’t looking only for students, but messengers, even partners. No, teachers don’t always do that.

He chooses twelve. Mark gives us a list of their names. People have at times insisted that the number is symbolic, as twelve, along with seven, are considered to be the “perfect” numbers in the ancient world. (7 because it is the result of adding 3 – representing divinity and heaven – and 4 – representing the material and earthly; 12 because it is the multiple of these two numbers.) Others suggest the twelve represented the twelve tribes of Israel. It may just be, however, that there really were twelve main apostles. We often think in tens; people in Jesus’ day might easily have done the same, but in twelves.

But here’s the thing: there weren’t just twelve apostles. There were twelve that are initially appointed and called this, but throughout Mark’s gospel others play that same role. And then there’s Paul, the “apostle to the Gentiles.” And then each time someone takes the gospel to another land he or she is called the apostle to that place and people.

And it doesn’t stop there. In fact, you and I are called to be apostles as well. We, too, are sent. We, too, are commissioned to bring a message and share in Jesus’ mission to resist all that would oppose God’s good will for God’s children.

Sometimes we get nervous when we put it that way. The message of Christianity has sometimes been spread so aggressively in our day and age – “do you know if you are going to heaven or hell?” or “have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?” – that we may shy away from the title and role. But so far in Mark’s story we see Jesus as one who cares about others, healing them, casting out unclean spirits, reminding them that law is supposed to serve us, not the other way around.

In all these ways Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the kingdom of God, he represents it. Indeed, he embodies it. So what if that was the content of our message: “God cares. God wants you to lead a full life. God wants you to be healed of whatever afflicts you. God wants us to use the law to love each other. And I’m here to remind you of that and to help.”

Can we do that? Can you and I remind folks that God loves them and be there to help? That’s, ultimately, all it takes to be an apostle.

So read the list that Mark supplies above once more. But this time, when you get to the end, to the ominous part about Judas, don’t stop – add your own name, too.

Prayer: Dear God, you have called us to be your apostles, those sent to share the message that you love us, all of us. Give us the courage to share this good news with those we meet. Amen.