Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send the out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons

 

 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.  

 

 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send the out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  

 

- Mark 3:7–19a 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

 

  But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.   My study Bible notes that Jesus withdrew both because the Pharisees were planning to destroy Him (although it wasn't Christ's time to die) and also to preach in other places.  As we can read, by now a great multitude follows Him.  As we by now recognize as a pattern, the unclean spirits cannot resist Him, and recognize and name who He is:  "You are the Son of God."  But consistent with this observed need for secrecy until the correct time to reveal Himself openly, Jesus sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.  

 

  And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send the out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.   Jesus appoints the twelve from His disciples, who will now become apostles.  The terms disciples and apostles are frequently used interchangeably, my study Bible says.  The Greek word for disciple means "learner" and apostle means "one sent out" (as on a mission).  That they might be with Him indicates they are disciples; that He might send them out makes them apostles.  Jesus gave them power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons, while He did these things through His own power.  My study Bible comments that the names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, as many people had more than one name.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, the names of the twelve are given in pairs (Matthew 10:1-4), suggesting who may have traveled together on their first missionary journey, as St. Mark's Gospel will tell us that they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7). 

 

In the Orthodox tradition, there is made a distinction between what is called God's essence and God's energies.  This distinction is made specifically to understand that as human beings, we are incapable of grasping God's essence, or true substance.  Our concepts and capacity for perception are too limited to know or grasp God as God exists in God's fullness and true Being.  But what we do grasp are called God's energies which reach toward us.  These energies are frequently called mercy or grace.  These reach to us and give us experiences of God, qualities of God, and all manner of aspects of God such as wisdom and the things that are known to us of God.  As such we can understand also God's working through the whole of creation in that we can find a presence or revelation of God in the beauty of the world.  We know that God has created many beings, such as angels and their varied ranks and ministries, which we as human beings cannot see, but who nonetheless minister to us and guide us, and help to facilitate God's salvation among us.  These also are working in God's energies which come to us.  When we are touched by the Holy Spirit, if we take on characteristics or qualities we recognize as holy, these are also revelations of God's energies at work in us.  As the angels have these qualities of God such as service, love, mercy, wisdom so also the energies of God may bless and allow us to take on such qualities (see the fruit of the Spirit listed by St. Paul for example).  So participation in these energies allows us to take on qualities of God and become through time transformed in God, in Christ, for this is our nature.  The inverse is also true:  if we choose to participate in what is evil, we will be going down a road of taking on the qualities of evil.  Today's choosing of the Twelve is another example of God's -- Christ's -- energies distributed and shared with human beings.  These twelve are being given the grace to go out as apostles to preach, and the power to heal and cast out demons.  They are, in effect, being commissioned to share in Christ's mission, and distributed out to the world just as the angels are sent among us, and this is the way that we need to see the ongoing mission of Christ on earth.  When we engage in prayer and worship, in all aspects of the sacraments we're given, we participate in that life of Christ, and so we may take on the surprising aspects of grace freely given to us, and our repentance works in order to open us to God's life for us.  The greatest examples we have of this process are the saints, too numerous to count, and their varied virtues manifest in myriad ways -- even hidden ways we don't see and might never know.  Through the stories we read in the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles, and in the whole tradition of the Church we know of the transformation of these Twelve who will go out to the world.  But their mission is ongoing, and so we may also participate in this life and Christ's energies and love for us.