Friday – 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Mark 3:13-19
Go Climb A Mountain
View From Mount Carmel
A
little context! Jesus has already
‘called’ His disciples to follow Him.
Today, however, we hear in the Gospel what amounts to a Commissioning
Ceremony. Jesus summons His
soon-to-be-Apostles and gives them their mission – to preach and to cast out
demons. What is most significant is
where this takes place.
Mountains, for the Jews, were always places to encounter the Divine, to meet God. Moses and the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, Noah and the Ark on Mount Ararat, the Temple on Mount Zion. They were holy places where one felt closer to God. So it should be no surprise that the Apostles are solemnly commissioned on a mountain, probably Mount of the Beatitudes which would have been close by. And Jesus selected 12, re-establishing the 12 Tribes of Israel.
And then the Gospel lists their names, one by one. It’s interesting that Jesus seems to give some of the Apostles a nickname! James and John are called ‘sons of thunder’! Perhaps they had booming voices! Simon is called Peter (Rocky?)! And then, at the very end of the list, there is Judas Iscariot, the traitor!
It is a good reminder that God knows each and every one of us by name and that we are each called to follow Jesus! But where will we end up on the list? Will Jesus have an affectionate nickname for us to signify our relationship with the Lord? Will we remain faithful to the Lord and to the mission?
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