Tuesday in the 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, September 6, 2022

Luke 6, 12-19

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.  And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

St. Luke, who follows the chronology of the Lord’s life more purposefully than Matthew and Mark, places the calling of the Twelve Apostles early in his Public Life, though this might have taken place one or even two years after the Lord’s Baptism by John, if we consider St. John’s chronology with his.  During this time, many had others, such as St. Matthias (who took the place of Judas) and Joseph Barsabbas (cf. Acts 1, 22-23) had also followed him.  The Lord called these twelve men who had given up everything to follow him into a distinct group whom he would train apart from the rest.  We can imagine the excitement but also uncertainty of each man as his name was called.  We should share in that excitement and uncertainty too for the Lord has called each of us by name as well.  None of us sneaked into the Holy Church, or went casually into whatever vocation we followed.  Perhaps we did not hear our names called vocally as did Peter and Andrew, yet the insistent tugging on our hearts and the unfolding of events in our lives surely reveals to us how God had indeed called each of us by name.  And, if we live faithfully for him here on earth, we shall hear him call it again at the end of our lives to join him in heaven.  The Lord Jesus “chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles”.  It would be interesting to know the Hebrew or Aramaic word that Jesus called them, translated by the Evangelists into the Greek word anglicized as “Apostles”.  The Greek word means something like “emissary”.  Literally, it means “one sent forth”.  The Lord only once sent them forth to preach during his lifetime, but then sent them forth to all the world before his Ascension into heaven.

“And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground.”  The hills of Galilee are greener than the rocky hills of Judea, but both feature plateaus.  Jesus stood on one of these.  This particular hill rises over seven hundred feet above the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum.  The Lord’s voice would have carried well at this site.  “A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him.”  All of these came from outside Galilee, even from Gentile Tyre and Sidon.  While many or most of the Jews regarded him as the Messiah, it is less clear why these Gentiles would have come, for the Lord would have spoken in Hebrew or Aramaic, unless they understood these languages.  But these people also came “to be healed of their diseases”, a testimony to how far the Lord’s reputation had spread.  We should note that at this time, Greek medicine, such as was practiced in Tyre and Sidon, was regarded as the most advanced in the world at that time.  The fact that many came from afar to be healed by this rough Galilean speaks to their desperation for healing and their willingness to concede that his power exceeded what their civilization had to offer them.  “Even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.”  The cures, even the exorcisms, occurred instantaneously.  We can try to imagine the pathetic parade of people deformed, sick, injured, and possessed being helped up the slope by friends and family in their forlorn hope of a cure, and of the rejoicing that took place when it was granted.  Perhaps, as seems to have happened more often than not when the Lord granted cures, silent amazement and wonder prevailed over loud cries of thanksgiving.  Psalm 126, 6-7 might capture the scene for us: “Going they went and wept, casting their seeds. But coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves.”

“Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.”  Power came forth from him because power surged within him.  We note here that the people did not think it necessary for him to touch them or for him to speak any words over them.  Nor did they seek potions or spells to alleviate their symptoms.  The power came not from what he did, but from who he was.  The day was fast approaching when people would come to know that all they needed was to touch the tassel of his cloak and they would be healed.  The Apostles stood by, numb with wonder.  One day, the Lord would share this power with them.