Gospel (Lk 9:1-6)

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal.

And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Commentary

Jesus makes the Twelve sharers in his own mission. When choosing them, he calls them “apostles” (cf. Lk 6:13), which means sent. For he will send them out to do what he himself has done from the beginning of his public life: heal the sick, cast out demons, proclaim God’s Kingdom. These actions far exceeded the human possibilities of those twelve men, most of them fishermen without any special training. But we are surprised by how eagerly they responded. With hardly any baggage, without provisions, they set out convinced that wherever they go they will not lack what is needed for their sustenance. They know that God will provide for them, because they have trusted in the Master, not in their own strength.

Those first Twelve began to feel a thirst for the salvation of souls, the same thirst that Jesus has. For that is why he came into the world. “For us men and for our salvation he came down from Heaven,” we profess in the Creed. They know that they have to be prepared for possible failures in their mission, and not be afraid to also give clear witness in this case, so that those who reject them can never say that no one told them anything about the good news of God’s Kingdom. Who knows whether this testimony might also bear fruit in the end? “You say you’ve failed! We never fail. You placed your confidence wholly in God. Nor did you neglect any human means. Convince yourself of this truth: your success – this time, in this – was to fail. Give thanks to our Lord… and try again!” (Saint Josemaría, The Way, no. 404).

In the Church of the 21st century, Jesus continues to choose and send out new apostles. Wherever they may go, trusting completely in his word and in our Lord’s thirst for souls, they are called to heal the sicknesses in souls and guide hearts with Christ’s salvific teaching.