no ordinary errand

Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7, 17-24; Psalm 33 Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you; Matthew 10:1-7

In today's gospel, Jesus gathers the twelve apostles and sends them on mission.  Now, this isn't some ordinary errand he has them perform.  This isn't a trial run.  It is a full blown mission. 

He gives them AUTHORITY over unclean spirits to drive out demons and cure every disease and illness.  He gave them a mission to proclaim that 'The Kingdom of God is at hand.'

No, this is no ordinary errand, or chore, or trial.  This is the real deal. 

Pope Benedict exhorts us to remember that Jesus gathers twelve to show he is different.  A rabbi was known to have, as was customary,  at least five disciples as a sign of his authority and status.  

Jesus chooses twelve so that he could be identified as set apart, different.  He wasn't just like all the rest.  He was starting something new.  It is this newness that travels with the apostles.  Through the apostles, as they live and embrace their mission, their new life, Christ himself reaches through them and touches those they encounter as they are called to faith.

In bearing their faith in Jesus, the apostles allow Jesus to vicariously make himself known through them, thus they can with certainty make the proclamation, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand,' because the person of Jesus, who sends them and walks with them, is the kingdom itself. 

The proclamation of the kingdom requires a personal faith and responsibility.  Thus, the twelve called are not anonymous but they are named, they are real, they each have a face, their personality bears witness to the reality of their encounter with Jesus.   Their face to face encounter with Christ gives their mission credibility.  This personal witness gives credibility to this new reality, the kingdom that is no longer far away but very near for it lives in the heart of the one who professes faith, in the heart of the one who has seen him face to face and is known by name.

In that heart filled with faith, that personal encounter with Jesus, the kingdom is made manifest.  

In our personal faith, following with the apostolic tradition, walking in the footsteps of the named apostles, we too become bearers of the kingdom of God that dwells in our hearts, reaches through us, and touches those around us. 

This is how the kingdom grows.