The Sent Ones
We might describe Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter as opportunities to reflect on and be shaped by different aspects of the God revealed in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Ordinary Time is when we reflect on how we join the disciples living in response to this God in our context and time. This week we are given Matthew 9:35-10:25 – Jesus sending out the “sent ones” or apostles. We hear these words in the promise of Pentecost and John’s experience of the Spirit of Ascended Jesus being breathed into each of us, gifting us peace; inviting us to rejoice and forgive and live the gospel. We continue our walk in Ordinary Time by returning to Matthew and his version of Jesus sending out the apostles. For Franciscans this is a very important story. On hearing this gospel reading in 1208 on the Feast of Saint Matthias, Francis of Assisi heard his calling and with his brothers found the basis of the rule of life for his order. He, like those first...