Reflection by Rev. Leonard N. Peterson

The popularity of TV game shows is proof positive that a lot of us like watching other people deal with both opportunity and choice. No matter which option they choose, there are always consequences. It is the nature of the game and the fun it provides.

Our lives, however, they may be demeaned by some as a “game,” are so much more. Certainly, more than TV shows. True, they involve both opportunity and choice, but the consequences are much more significant and lasting than prize money or some game show reward.

Robert Frost’s poem celebrates people who take “the road less traveled by.” The poet celebrates exceptional souls unafraid to be different. I believe we can confidently count the Twelve men Jesus chose as His Apostles to be just such special people.

Granted that the initial choice of them was all the Lord’s, yet each man responded positively to the call according to his unique nature. For all their acknowledged limitations, each man knew from the start that following this most charismatic a Leader as Jesus of Nazareth surely was the right decision and the only choice that mattered.

It did not take long for each of the Twelve to realize that there were consequences attached to the Lord’s choice. True, they may have enjoyed some of the acclaim Jesus received in His short public life in their days as preachers. But for sure they suffered for their loyalty and dedication to Him.

Sadly, we know that one of them experienced enough disillusion to become a traitor. All but one of them fled their positions at Christ’s side on the very day it mattered most. Only the youngest, out of the Eleven stayed with Him at the foot of the cross. Yet all but John died as martyrs.

We can all learn from their stories. To start, there is their very ordinariness that offers us encouragement if we are willing to admit that is us as well. None of them, for example, excelled as business leaders. No high scholarly degrees or academic honors came their way; they were none of them stars in the worlds of Arts and Literature. But oh, how they turned out to be models of faith, hope, and charity! Of loyalty and love of God. Champions of that rare human achievement of being exactly what God wanted them to be, and of doing His holy will to the best of their ability.

The following worthwhile opinion is attributed to Theodore Roosevelt:

It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbles or how the doer of deeds might have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. That his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

God love you and give you His peace.

Rev. Peterson’s Reading & Gospel Summary

Reading I: Exodus 19: 2-6a
Israel assembles at Sinai to meet its God and witness His power, The covenant He proposes is a conditional one. To experience its benefits, Israel must adhere to its terms.

Reading II: Romans 5: 6 -11
The dying of Christ shows the depths of God’s unconditional love for the world. This is remarkable when one considers how the “ungodly” world does not deserve His love.

The Gospel: Matthew 9: 36 – 10:8
Jesus chooses the Twelve. They are ordinary men but with enormous potential. Like them, we are called by our Baptism to go forth and witness to the reign of God, and that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”