September 6, Tuesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 & Gospel: Luke 6:12-19
“He called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve.”
Imagine you are present among Jesus’ disciples who always turn up with him wherever Jesus would be present. Everybody is excited whenever the Teacher shows up because he always has something interesting to say and do. And it seems that today is a special day because you hear from rumors that he will be selecting a few of you to become part of his inner circle. It will be a privileged few who will follow him more closely and be privy to whatever secrets he may wish to share.
Then Jesus turns up and immediately starts calling out names. Wait, he’s calling the names of just ordinary people – there are a few fishermen, a tax collector and a freedom fighter. Why isn’t he selecting someone who is considered learned?
And then, after choosing twelve, he pauses and turns to you, and calls your name!
You don’t know how to respond! And you realize you’re just like the others he chose, you’re just another ordinary person with no special skills worth bragging about. Hey, you realize that some of the others chosen are even more skilled than you!
You say yes, and so from then on, you follow him everywhere, to listen to him and witness what he does, whether it is to preach his message of love, to heal the sick, to cast out evil spirits. He’s going everywhere and meeting and dining with people whom others would not be caught associating with. Where does he get his power and energy to do all these?
And then you realize that he would often go out on his own, spend the night alone in prayer, talking with his Father, his “Abba”, just like that night before he selected you. Could that be it? What could he be telling his Father? What could his Father be telling him?
Friend, every day Jesus is calling you and me by our name to follow him, to learn from him. He is inviting us to do as he does. How do we respond? Are we ready to sit at his feet, not just to learn from his teachings, but also to pray with him and listen to our Father.
Lord, we pray for perseverance to be quiet and listen to you.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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