What does it mean to be chosen, rather than to choose?
The remarkable thing about the Christian life is that our faith begins not with our own yes to Christ, but His invitation to us. He takes the initiative, summoning us each to the life of faith and the work of mission. It is then up to each of us to give our assent. When we follow that singular call, we enter into the great adventure of not only discipleship, but the apostolic life. We are sent out on mission to the world.
Calling of the Twelve
Today’s Gospel reading draws us into the time of Christ’s calling of the twelve apostles. Luke tells us that He calls them by name from among the larger gathering of disciples. Out of the many, he chooses twelve to be His apostles, those who will bear special witness to Him to the rest of the world. Indeed, it is upon these twelve that the early Church is established. What strikes me as I read this is the night of prayer on the mountain which precedes the choosing of the twelve. Luke relates that Jesus went out by himself and spent the whole night in prayer on the mountain.
Sanctified in Love
What was our Lord praying about? Why would He need to pray at all, since he is the Son of God? We who think of prayer as making requests to God might puzzle at this, yet if we consider prayer rather as loving conversation between beloved and the lover, we come to see these times of prayer on the mountain as communion of love between God the Father and God the Son, incarnate in Jesus. In this passage, we may surmise that Jesus is offering to the Father the names of the twelve He is about to summon as apostles. It is an act of love: Jesus offers them so that they may be sanctified in the love of this prayer. Indeed, he spends the whole night in prayer out of love for these twelve He is about to call.
He knew well the human weakness of each of these men. He knew that Peter would deny him, that Thomas would doubt, and perhaps even that Judas would betray Him. They had no special merits of their own to offer, and indeed would often struggle to understand his teachings. Nonetheless, in ardent prayer He offered them to the Father that they might be sanctified through divine love. This love, later fulfilled in the outpouring of the Spirit, would make them into men of mission, saints upon which the Church would stand unshakable.
Chosen and Sent on Mission
As we hear the names of these twelve in today’s Gospel reading, let us take to heart the personhood of each of these men summoned by Jesus. Each of these names signifies a unique life transformed radically by the call of the Lord, and each of these experienced the power of living and walking with Him. In this vein, one of the gifts of the TV series “The Chosen” is to reveal what it might have been like for these twelve men to follow Jesus of Nazareth for the three years of His ministry. They shared in the experience of traveling with Him, eating, and drinking with Him, listening to His words, and ultimately preaching His Name to the known world. This unlikely band of twelve became the foundation of the Church. Through their witness and testimony to the life, death, and resurrection of this Jesus, they spread the mustard seeds that would eventually flower in abundance in the life of the Church. As we reflect upon the Twelve, let us remember Christ’s words to them and to us who believe: It is not you who have chosen Me, but I who have chosen you.
