Week of 1 Epiphany: Monday, Year 1

Above:  The Twelve Apostles

Image Source = Stanp

“How many apostles are there?”

JANUARY 9, 2023

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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Hebrews 1:1-6 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir to all things, through whom also he created the ages.  He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.  When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.

For to what angel did God ever say,

You are my Son,

today have I begotten you?

Or again,

I will be to him a father,

and he shall be to me a Son?

And again, when he brings the first-born into the world he says,

Let all God’s angels worship him.

Psalm 97 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 The LORD is King;

let the earth rejoice;

let the multitude of the isles be glad.

2 Clouds and darkness are round about him,

righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.

3 A fire goes before him

and burns up his enemies on every side.

4 His lightnings light up the world;

the earth sees it and is afraid.

5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD,

at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

6 The heavens declare his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.

7 Confounded be all who worship carved images

and delight in false gods!

Bow down before him, all you gods.

8 Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice,

because of your judgments, O LORD.

9 For you are the LORD,

most high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above all gods.

10 The LORD loves those who hate evil;

he preserves the lives of the saints

and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11 Light has sprung up for the righteous,

and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted.

12 Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous,

and give thanks to his holy Name.

Mark 1:14-20 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying,

The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.  And Jesus said to them,

Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.

And immediately they left their nets and followed him.  And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.  And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.

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The Collect:

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

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I admit it.  I like both really good movies (you know, the kind with great acting, a well-written script, and lovely cinematography) as well as bad ones.  There is a time and a season for Citizen Kane, as well as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.  (Did you ever imagine those two sharing the same thought or sentence?)  Among my favorite bad movies is …And God Spoke (The Making of).  This is a mockumentary about two utterly incompetent and biblically illiterate filmmakers filming a Bible movie.  In one scene, they have too few actors to play the Twelve Apostles because they do not know how many apostles there were.

Indeed, this is a more difficult question than one might suspect at first.  We begin with the twelve who formed Jesus’ inner circle.  Then we add Matthias, plucked briefly from obscurity among the 70 (or 72) of our Lord and Savior’s outer circle to take the place of Judas.  And we consider Paul of Tarsus an apostle.  Our Eastern Orthodox brethren consider Mary of Magdala an equal of the Twelve Apostles.  That, I suppose, makes her an apostle.

Furthermore, the ranks of the saints include others called apostles, for example the “Apostle of Ireland” (St. Patrick).  This is consistent with one definition of apostle, according to the Encarta World English Dictionary:  “a prominent Christian missionary, especially one who is responsible for converting a nation.”

Becoming an apostle (generic term) or Apostle (one the inner circle of Jesus) entailed great personal risks.  Excluding Judas and including Matthias, eleven of the Twelve became martyrs.   John was just fortunate, I suppose.  These men converted nations and laid the foundations upon which succeeding Christian leaders built.  I, as a Christian, owe them much gratitude.  Paul died as a martyr, too, but not before taking Christianity to the Gentiles, among whose company I count myself.  Mary Magadalene is a much misunderstood figure, for Papal tradition (that of Pope Gregory I, to be precise), not the Bible, associates her as having been a prostitute.  Yet another tradition says that she took the Gospel to southern Gaul, now France.  She probably did.

How many apostles are there?  They are still being born.

Thanks be to God!

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/how-many-apostles-are-there/

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