Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
September 6, 2022
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Luke 6:12-19
In this reading we first see Jesus choosing twelve apostles from among his other disciples. These twelve were to represent the twelve tribes of Israel–the new people of God. They were to be eyewitnesses of Jesus’ ministry and the link between Jesus and the future community of faith.
The apostles were not prominent people. Some of them were businessmen. Some were fishermen. One was a low-level government official. All of them were pretty ordinary.
We also see the crowd. It was a mixed group of people: Jews and Gentiles from near and far, many afflicted with diseases and unclean spirits. You didn’t have to qualify to approach Jesus. You just had to want to be near him. Jesus was not elitist–either then or now.
