揀選宗徒

by FLL Editorial Team
2013-10-28


那時,耶穌出去,上山祈禱;他徹夜向天主祈禱。天一亮,他把門徒叫來,由他們中揀選了十二人,並稱他們為宗徒:即西滿,耶穌又給他起名叫伯多祿,和他的兄弟安德肋、雅各伯、若望、斐理伯、巴爾多祿茂、瑪竇、多默、阿耳斐的兒子雅各伯、號稱「熱誠者」的西滿、雅各伯的兄弟猶達和猶達斯依斯加略,他成了負賣者。

耶穌同他們下山,站在一塊平地上,有他的一大群門徒和很多從猶太、耶路撒冷及提洛和漆冬海邊來的群眾,他們來是為聽他講道,並為治好自己的病症;那些被邪魔纏擾的人都被治好了。群眾都設法觸摸他,因為有一種能力從他身上出來,治好眾人。
路加福音 6:12-19

在今天的福音,我們看到耶穌在挑選十二宗徒之前,獨自上山徹夜祈禱。在聖經時常提及不同的山,因為聖經談及的地域的確佈滿著山脈;而高山亦有一種象徵意義,人們認為身處山上比較接近在高天的天主。

在聖經中出現過的山很多時都跟重要時刻有關。在西乃山,天主跟梅瑟面對面交談。在加爾默耳山,天主當著巴耳邪神的先知面前應允了厄里亞先知。耶穌也在山上選定十二宗徒。

耶穌挑選宗徒前先花一整夜祈禱,為我們樹立一個榜樣。我們要做一些重大的決定時,也該仿傚耶穌,祈禱分辨怎樣做才合乎天主的旨意。

從十二位宗徒中,我們見到不同職業、性格的人。耶穌召選不同的人作為宗徒,一同宣講天國的福音,我們會否接納跟自己不同背景和個性的人呢?

這篇默想由生命恩泉文摘編輯小組撰寫,內容以下列文章為根據: Commentaries on the daily readings by Sacred Space, What is the significance of mountains in the bible?, 10月28日 聖西滿及聖達德宗徒慶日


Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.
Luke 6:12-19

In today's Gospel, we read that before appointing the twelve apostles. Jesus spent the whole night praying on a mountain. In the Bible, we see that mountains are mentioned frequently. It is because mountains dotted the landscape of biblical regions. Mountains also have a logical religious symbolism, people thought they were "closer to God" who was believed to dwell in the heavens.

The mountains mentioned in the Bible are often related to significant moments. On Mount Sinai, Moses spoke face to face with God. On Mount Carmel, God answered Elijah's prayer in front of the prophets of Baal. In this reading we see that Jesus appointed the apostles on a mountain.

Before the appointment, Jesus spent the whole night praying. Jesus is the model of prayer. Before making important decisions, we should imitate Jesus to pray and discern God's will in order to act accordingly.

Among the twelve apostles, we see that they had different occupations and personalities. Jesus chose people of very different backgrounds to preach the Good News together, will we accept people who are very different from ourselves?

This reflection is prepared by the FLL Inspire editorial team as a digest of the following three articles:: Commentaries on the daily readings by Sacred Space, What is the significance of mountains in the bible?, 10月28日 聖西滿及聖達德宗徒慶日

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