Are You Appointed?

Mark 3:13- 19
29 May 2011

Do you remember the days when, either in physical education or with your friend, you formed teams? There with be a large group and two people were picked as team leaders, usually the jocks. Then one by one, they would select their team. I greatly disliked it when teams were picked that way because I was always one of the last to be chosen. Until I reached high school, I was either the shortest or second shortest boy in my class. I didn’t play any organised sports except in the summer when I would go to my neighbourhood park for whatever activities were offered on that day. And even then, whenever we played tag or capture the flag – my all time favourite game – the teams were picked the usual way. I was one of the last picked.
This is probably why I was always self conscious about my athletic abilities. It wasn’t until I attended a cadet camp when I was 15 years old and then recommended to return the following year as a physical education instructor – yes that shocked me for sure – that I realised that I wasn’t as bad as I once thought.
Isn’t that amazing the ideas we form about ourselves because of something we heard or experienced in our childhood? It may have nothing to do with the truth or the facts, but it marks us in powerful ways.
Take God’s view of who you are for example. How do you see yourself from God’s perspective? Most of us can understand that God loves us. We have heard that often enough. Most of us can understand that God forgives us our sins. We have heard that enough too. But does that knowledge really sink deep within our hearts or do other, perhaps older messages, take precedence in our minds?
Do we see ourselves utterly dependent upon God or does the message of self-sufficiency so ingrained that we have a difficult understanding that we do need God in our lives? And what about the ability to do whatever we set our minds to do? Does this take over our capability of understanding and grasping what God’s will might be for our lives?
Can we really appreciate God’s call on our lives with all the messages we hear from the world and from our past?
This morning’s passage from the gospel according to Mark is another one of those difficult to preach passages as you will see. But I think that there is something very important for us to notice in Jesus’ selection of the twelve apostles. Let’s read the passage and then we’ll look at it in more detail to see the gem I think is hiding in there.
“Jesus went up to the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James, son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boarnerges, that is Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thadaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home (Mark 3: 13- 19).”
Have you ever wondered why Jesus picked the people He did to be His apostles? Just venture out a guess. No one really knows why Jesus picked such a various group of people. We know a few of this motley crew.
We know that Simon, also called Peter, was a brother to Andrew and that James and John were brothers, all fishermen. If you wonder what boarnerges means, it is most likely a Greek transliteration of the words “sons of thunder.” Why Jesus nicknamed James and John sons of thunder, we are not sure. Did it have to do with temperament? Yet we know John through his gospel as a meditative, profound kind of person. I know I would label Peter more that way!
Philip is said to have come from Bethsaida. Incidentally, his name means “lover of horses.” Bartholomew’s name means son of Tholomaios. Thomas is identified as a twin in the gospel according to John but if this is the case, his twin is never mentioned anywhere in the New Testament, that we know of. James the son of Alphaeus is another unknown person, except that Levi, the tax collector we met earlier is also the son of an Alphaeus. Are they brothers? Then there is Thaddaeus whom Luke names Judas the son of James, probably his Jewish name. There is Simon the Cananaen whom Luke describes as being the Zealot. Zealots were a political party that considered itself revolutionary and super patriotic. They were known to be chauvinistic in their views. (i can only imagine how well he got along with Matthew the tax collector who represented everything the zealots hated!) Finally, there is the selection of the most infamous of them all, Judas Iscariot. It has been written that Iscariot may mean the man from Karioth, a village located in Judah. This would make him the only one of the twelve from that area of Palestine.
The only ones we really know well are Simon Peter, John, Thomas and Judas Iscariot. The rest are unknown, by and large. As a group, we have no idea what they did except that perhaps they were sent on a short term mission in the towns and villages before Jesus went to them. They didn’t seem to operate as a group until after Jesus’ ascension into heaven.
How interesting that Jesus picked mostly unknown people who were destined to remain unknown except for their names. Can this be sending us a message?
How many people does Jesus call who have been, are or are destined to become famous? Judging by the number of the apostles who became famous, the answer would be very few. Yet, does this mean that the others who were called had no significance? Does this mean they had not serious purpose? I don’t think so. If Jesus called them, it was He had a task for them to do, even if that task was going to be unknown to us and insignificant compared to people like Peter, John and Paul.
Another interesting thing is His choice of Judas Iscariot. Why would Jesus select someone who was going to betray Him? I think it is a cue that Jesus not only came to preach, heal and give an example. He came to be killed as the ultimate sacrifice. Dying on the cross was part of the purpose He came for. His death was not an accident nor was it unplanned.
So, choosing apostles that would not be known, that would live and work and serve in the shadows was on purpose. He did not demand more than what was planned. He knew the people He called. He knows us when He calls us. Whether we are destined to be famous or not, when He calls He knows what He is doing.
So what does Jesus ask us to do? He asked the apostles to partner with Him in His mission of spreading the Good News. He gave them authority over darkness, just like He had authority over it. We know that after He left, he gave them the Holy Spirit so they would receive the wisdom they needed to understand God’s will. This same Spirit is given to us too when we make the decision to follow.
I think that too often we underestimate what we have in Christ. We fail to trust that He know why He called us and why He wants us to partner with Him in spreading the Good News.
As I mentioned last week, two Fridays ago Janice and I went to see the Watoto choir from Uganda. This outreach to child soldiers and orphans and vulnerable women was started by Canadian missionary couple, Gary and Marilyn Skinner. They went to Kampala the capital of Uganda in 1982 to plant a church. Nine years later, out of compassion for the 2 million children who had been affected by war and disease, they began the Watoto child care ministry. In 1994, the children choir was founded and began to travel the world to raise awareness.
God had great plans for the Skinners and like you, I marvel at what they have been able to accomplish in Christ’s name. But they would be the first one to tell you that they are not alone in this endeavour. Countless others have come alongside of them. Some have come to provide financially. Some have come to provide to unceasing prayers. Some have come to work with the children. Some have come to look for orphans. Some have come to teach the children and young adults skills to help them become good, productive and skilled citizens. Few would know the names of these servants. But all are as important.
God thinks you have an important role to play in His kingdom too. We serve Him when we give to feed the hungry. We serve Him when we come alongside a person who needs a shoulder to cry on. We serve Him when we can give some direction to someone who is unsure where to turn or where to go. We serve Him we live through the hope that Christ has given us. We live in hope when we face terrific situations but don’t allow them to crush us.
We serve God when we are open with our feelings toward each other and are not afraid to receive help. We serve God when we are real, not pretending that everything is okay when it is not. We serve God when we pray for each other. We serve God when we come together in worship and fellowship. We serve God when we tame our tongues. We serve God when we develop the gifts He has given us and when we develop those fruits of the Spirit.
I also believe that we serve God when we work toward the greater good of our community, when we freely give of our time to make our community, our neighbourhood and our planet a better place.
I am not telling you anything new here. But I want to press the point that when God calls you to follow Him, we have no excuse not to do so. He has already equipped us for what He calls us for. His Spirit is with us to guide us. His Word is there to show us what it means to follow Jesus. Only fear and, dare I say, sin, keeps us away from answering His call.
What do you say to His call on your life?