Luke 6:12-16

Today we go back to an earlier stage of Jesus’ ministry.  He withdrew to a mountain to pray all night, the only way he could be alone in the quiet when others were sleeping and the hubbub of the world settled down.  Emerging from deep prayer, he knew what he must do, which was to appoint twelve disciples to be apostles.

From today’s reading we learn that that a deep well of prayer exists for all of us in the quiet times alone.  Sometimes we need to withdraw from the world for an hour or a day or a week, turn off the phones and TV, mute the emails and texts, and just dive into the deep well of prayer.  Be present and be still, and keep your spiritual ears open for God’s promptings. When we emerge, we may know what to do next, or we may be at peace with the uncertainty.  There are no promises but it is our path.

Today we also learn that Jesus needed to appoint apostles because he could not do all that needed to be done himself.  He needed a multiplier effect of appointing apostles.  And he continues to recruit us into his family to spread the peace of God, all of us.  It is so and it is good. Amen.