＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Colossians 2: 6-15

If you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, let him be your doctrine.  

Be rooted and built up in him; let faith be your principle, as you were taught, and your thanksgiving overflowing. See that no one deceives you with philosophy or any hollow discourse; these are merely human doctrines not inspired by Christ but by the wisdom of this world.  For in Him dwells the fullness of God in bodily form.  He is the head of all cosmic power and authority, and in him you have everything.

  In Christ Jesus you were given a circumcision but not by human hands, which removed completely from you the carnal body:   I refer to baptism. On receiving it you were buried with Christ; and you also rose with him for having believed in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

You were dead. You were in sin and uncircumcised at the same time. But God gave you life with Christ. He forgave all our sins.  He can­celed the record of our debts, those regulations which accused us. He did away with all that and nailed it to the cross.  Victorious through the cross, he stripped the rulers and authorities of their power, hum­bled them before the eyes of the whole world and dragged them behind him as prisoners.

 

 ＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 6: 12-19

At this time Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God.  When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them whom he called apostles:  Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartho­lo­mew;  Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot;   Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood In an open plain. Many of his disciples were there and a large crowd of people who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Si­don.  They gathered to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured. The entire crowd tried to touch him because of the power that went out from him and healed them all.

 

Reflection gospel：

“CHOSE TWELVE WHOM HE CALLED APOSTLES.”

The far-reaching mission of Jesus, from the Father and through the apostles, extends to us. It is alive in those people who were touched by Christ’s, spirit, and fully embraced it in their lives. No matter how great or simple (Measuring it in human terms) it may be, it has a particular thing to accomplish in the reign of God’s love, justice and mercy; and to God, it has tremendous significance.

That extension in us is specific to us. It is only you or I who can carry it out meaningfully, effectively. In saying this who else can/will do it aside from us? Because of us Jesus’ mission reaches far and wide; and, it leaves a historical mark for people to continue.

Who can stop God’s reign of love, justice and mercy except only us? Each of us may prevent an element of Christ’s mission to proceed by saying “no” that which we are called to do, but it will not completely stop because it will always find a suitable person to further the mission. Christ’s Spirit continues to touch the hearts of women and men so that it may renew all creation.