Among the Ordinary

~~~ Saint Peter Claver ~~~

~~~ 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 ~~~ Psalm 149 ~~~ Luke 6:12-19 ~~~

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.

Jesus separated himself from the disciples
 and the crowds of people coming to be healed.
He went away in the darkness of night.
He went away into the silence of the night.
He went away to the stillness of the mountain.
Jesus prays alone to the Father for guidance.
He was about to make a big announcement...
naming his chosen apostles.
Apostle...one sent out, a missionary sent to preach the word of God.
He named twelve ordinary men as his closest companions.

This definition permits us to include many others
under the title of 'apostle' including Saint Peter Claver.
He spent much of his priesthood ministering
 to the large population of salves.
He served them and catechized them as often as he was allowed.
He called himself "the slave of the slaves."

After spending all night in prayer Jesus chooses his 

twelve apostles from among his disciples.
Then together they come down...
...he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground.

They came down together to level ground.
They were joining the people.
They were with the people. Jesus did not set himself apart.
He made himself accessible. 

A large number of people came from all of the neighboring towns.
Jesus is teaching his new apostles his life of compassion.
He could have gone back to the village to rest and sleep,
but instead he comes to the people who were waiting for him.
They wanted to see him and hear his holy words.
But most importantly they wanted to touch him...
they wanted to be touched by him.

Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.

When you imagine such a scene how can you not
be in awe and wonder at the person of Jesus?
His entire ministry was one of self sacrifice, love, and compassion.

We may not be able to physically touch Jesus today,
but that should not stop us from believing
that his power is just as real today as it was two thousand years ago.

Jesus chose twelve apostles in hopes that we
would also want to join their ranks.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

The Lord takes delight in you right now today.
Do you want to be one of his chosen?
Do you want to be one of his 'apostles'?
You must be willing to preach the word of God.
As Saint Francis of Assisi says,
use words if necessary.

The power that came forth from Jesus was the combined
power he shared in with the Father. 

They are still willing to send down this power to us.
God invites us to work together with him.

Be Blessed with the assurance
 that God takes delight in the ordinary person;
that would include you.

Don't let him down.
~~~Peace~~~

"Gift of Yahweh"

Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 1:15-17, 20-26 ~~~ Psalm 113 ~~~ John 15:9-17 ~~~

Matthias was not one of the original apostles hand picked by Jesus.

He was, however, a faithful follower and an avid believer.

He was one of about seventy disciples who had been

 with Jesus from the beginning.

If it not for this feast day we 

might not even pay attention to Matthias.

Matthias was discerned, thus chosen,

 by God to fill the position held by Judas.

The name Matthias means "gift of Yahweh".

It seems Matthias won the lottery, as lots were drawn for him.

Very little was historically recorded about Matthias. 

We can safely surmise that 

he went about preaching the gospel of Jesus.

One may wonder why Peter felt the need to replace Judas.

The Bible footnote points out the significance of the number twelve.

The number twelve was associated with the twelve tribes of Israel.

Tradition tells us that Matthias, was the one who climbed up into the tree

 to get a better look at Jesus.

He was also called Zacchaeus. 

Jesus invites himself to dine in the home of Zacchaeus.

Following this dinner meeting, he gave half of his belongings

 to Jesus and became a believer. 

Matthias was chosen by God to be named one of the apostles

 because he turned away for his corrupt ways.

He chose to enter into the circle of influence surrounding Jesus

and he was filled with grace.

Matthias was stoned to death for blasphemy.

We too can chose to enter into this circle surrounding Jesus.

We can open ourselves to be changed by Jesus.

We can experience the fullness of his grace.

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you

Jesus speaks these words to each of us today

just as when Matthias was chosen to be one of the Apostles.

Every day Jesus chooses you to be with him...

to receive his graces...

to reside in his circle of Blessings.

~~~ Peace ~~~