Reading 1
1 Cor 6:1-11
Brothers and sisters:
How can any one of you with a case against another
dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment
instead of to the holy ones?
Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?
If the world is to be judged by you,
are you unqualified for the lowest law courts?
Do you not know that we will judge angels?
Then why not everyday matters?
If, therefore, you have courts for everyday matters,
do you seat as judges people of no standing in the Church?
I say this to shame you.
Can it be that there is not one among you wise enough
to be able to settle a case between brothers?
But rather brother goes to court against brother,
and that before unbelievers?
Now indeed then it is, in any case,
a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another.
Why not rather put up with injustice?
Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?
Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers.
Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived;
neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves
nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers
will inherit the Kingdom of God.
That is what some of you used to be;
but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and in the Spirit of our God.
Gospel
Lk 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.
Meditation: Luke 6:12-19
“He called his disciples to himself.” (Luke 6:13)
Imagine Jesus coming down from a night of prayer in the mountains. It is early morning, and his disciples have waited patiently for his return. He gathers them around him, and then one by one he calls out the names of the twelve men who will be his apostles.
Imagine how these twelve men must have felt as they heard their names being called. Were they surprised? Excited? Intimidated? Overwhelmed? At this point in time, they didn’t know exactly what this calling would entail, but they did know that it involved a mission of some sort—the word “apostle” means “one who is sent.” At the very least, it would mean being willing to journey with this itinerant rabbi as he traveled around Palestine.
Have you ever been selected for a task that you felt intimidated by and unequipped to fulfill? Perhaps you were surprised that you were called or felt that surely someone else was more qualified than you. Maybe you were asked to lead a Bible study group or a ministry at your parish. Or perhaps it was something that came to you unexpectedly, like having a child with special needs or an elderly parent who required constant care.
But when God chooses us, he also equips us. He never fails to give us all the grace we need to carry out his call. Do you believe this? Unfortunately, it’s easy to doubt God’s power and call in our lives. Even the apostles had their moments of doubt and confusion. But at Pentecost, when they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they were filled with the power they needed to preach the good news. And look what they accomplished!
If you are feeling overwhelmed by your vocation today, step back and take a deep breath. Think about the apostles and the day of Pentecost. Think, too, about Mary and the way she surrendered to God’s calling for her. And most importantly, ask the Holy Spirit to give you greater confidence in his presence. He likes helping you! He loves it when you turn to him, and he is more than happy to give you all you need to carry out your call.
“Lord, you have called me, and I answer: ‘Here I am!’ I trust that you will make up in me all that I lack.”
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