One of the most striking things about the gospel stories is that calling disciples was one of the first things Jesus did. It was central to what he was about from the very beginning. So let’s ask ourselves today, what does it mean to be a disciple? And what I will propose is that there are two things we can learn about it. On the one hand, of course, it involves following Jesus, which means learning from him, and spending so much time with him getting to know him and the way he is that you gradually have his life in front of you all the time, and at different times you’ll maybe, just maybe be able to see the world the way he did. That sounds like a lifetime’s work, but that first assignment isn’t all there is to being a disciple. Being a disciple also involves going somewhere, being sent somewhere to bring Christ to people who need him more than anything. Disciples are chosen to go out and do something, and here in this gospel at least they go out with less than a year’s education and without any official credentials. They’re given a pretty broad assignment, and then they just go. And that part of the assignment, going somewhere, to us sounds even harder than the first part.
We would like to think that maybe the era of God calling people and sending them off isn’t as active as it used to be, or that the people who get called are the people who are priests and deacons and others who seem to have official status in some way. But fortunately or unfortunately for us, this is not at all true. God still calls people, all the time and everywhere. God is constantly choosing people to do something in the same way Jesus chose these disciples today. Sometimes it’s very hard to believe this, primarily because there are so many humans out there who have convinced themselves that God has chosen them for something, and unfortunately it’s clear from what they have felt chosen to do that they have left the Jesus of the gospels very far behind. But we can’t let other people’s delusions convince us that talk about God choosing people is crazy. The God who spent four entire gospels choosing people to build his kingdom is not deterred. Sometime in your life, you are going to realize that perhaps it’s you that is being asked to go somewhere new.
If that realization ever happens, what we all need to remember is that God works miracles, and especially on the people who do his work. These first disciples were people with no education or standing, but Jesus wants to make sure they understand that even with all those apparent shortcomings, they have what they need. No special clothing or robes, no equipment, no books or catechisms — it’s as if he wants to tell them that they are the equipment, just who they are, with all their gifts and flaws. What they need is simply what they already have, the love they had already experienced, what they need is the example of Christ already operating in them powerfully, that is what they needed to start. They were ready, even though I am sure that when they headed off without Jesus they didn’t feel like it.
And what Jesus also seems to be telling them is not to imagine they are saving the world, and in fact to be gentle with what they do. You won’t be able to force people to love, Jesus says, or force them to do anything. Just be with the people you want to reach. Don’t try to get them to come to you, you go to them. Be with people wherever they find themselves. live with them as one of them, help them if you can. Some of them will respond and some of them won’t. And above all don’t do it alone, have a partner to sustain you. If it doesn’t seem to work, remember it’s not all about you. Just move on and keep going.
As disciples, we all have somewhere to be, even if right now it might not be entirely clear to you where that is for you, because where we’re called to be is generally so ordinary, and probably someplace we’ve already seen the outlines of. Ordinary people sit with the sick and reach out to the depressed, over and over. Ordinary people offer to pray with other people because sometimes that’s all you can do, or need to do. Ordinary people preach a God of forgiveness by extending forgiveness everywhere. Ordinary people go places and give special attention to the powerless, to people without rights, to the poor that Jesus sent his first disciples to be with, even though being on the side of the poor and the forgotten never makes for popularity. And ordinary people do this not because of any special skills or powers they have, but because they allowed God to take away that barrier we all have that says, not me. Instead he sends us out two by two, maybe towards failure and maybe towards a modest success, but with the going out being what matters.
So if you have ever thought you might want to be some kind of a formal church person, like a deacon, which I have been waiting 27 years now for someone to tell me, that’s great. But that’s not at all the same thing as wanting to be a disciple. For that, you only need the touch of Christ to start you, and maybe another person to give you strength standing alongside you. God is choosing people all the time, to be his image and presence, so if you feel the tap of God on your shoulder, realize that it’s not a mistake. It’s you that God wants.