Today's Gospel Reflection
They are built on the foundation of the apostles
St. Paul presents us with the hope of being part of the family of God. For from the moment we respond to the Lord's call "we are no longer strangers and foreigners, we are citizens of the saints, members of the household of God". To be citizens of the saints is to know that, as living temples of God, each one of us is built on the foundation of the apostles, that is, thanks to their response to the Lord's call and their evangelizing mission throughout the world, today we can also be apostles of the Good News and bring the Gospel to all the ends of the earth.
Many times we live under the things that happen, what does not last, anguished by the setbacks that are presented to us day by day. We have lost the horizon, the goal to which God calls us, Eternal Life. We try to be good citizens here on earth, to comply with the rules, to be pleasing in the eyes of others, because it is important that society accepts us. And trying to please the world, we forget that we are also citizens of heaven, members of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the city that never ends, built by God. St. Paul invites us to be builders of God's dwelling place, which is his Church. We can do this only by living deeply with Jesus Christ, allowing ourselves to be transformed by him and joyfully carrying out his mission.
He chose twelve, whom he named apostles.
Today's Gospel presents us with three fundamental aspects: prayer, election and mission.
We see Jesus praying, as an essential part of his life. Before making an important decision such as choosing the apostles, he spends the whole night in prayer to the Father. It is the continuous and personal dialogue with God that gives Jesus the ability to continue each step of his mission. How is your prayer? How do you make the most important decisions in your life? When it is time to make a decision, we usually ask our family and friends what we can do, we think a lot, and sometimes we lose peace because we are afraid of making a mistake, we run away from failure and we are afraid of the possibility of losing. However, sometimes we forget to turn to God, not to ask for everything to go well, according to our ideals, but to do His will and accept with peace every event in life.
After spending the night in prayer, Jesus chooses the apostles. The Lord's choice of his disciples is a very important moment, because each one of them is chosen by him, called to be another Christ on earth. This is how the Lord chooses us too, he calls us by name, he knows the depths of our hearts and loves even that which we do not accept in ourselves. He knows us, and because he knows us, he chooses us. He knows that from what we are, from the clay from which we were created, we can offer to those around us a living testimony of what Christ does in our lives.
And finally, Jesus comes down from the mountain with his disciples and continues his mission, which is to rescue and heal the sick, not only in body but also in spirit. The evangelist says that "people tried to touch him, because a power came out of him and healed them all". This power is none other than the Spirit of God, who resides in the heart of Christ, through the Holy Spirit. Is this not also our mission? To heal the sick of our society, thirsty for love and truth, thirsty for life. Let us allow ourselves to be transformed by God, so that our life may be a reflection of the Father's glory, so that the strength that Christ gives us to reach out to our brothers and sisters in need may come out of us, and as we heal others, we too may be rescued from selfishness, from self-sufficiency, from an empty faith. May the love of Christ renew our whole being, to be apostles of the Truth, may St. Simon and Jude Thaddeus intercede for us and may we know how to give to the world the only and the best that we have: The Risen Christ.
