It seems that in the Alpine mountains of Switzerland there is a particular spot on the top, where…

… one may throw an object in one direction, and it will roll on, by way of the River Danube to the Black Sea.

…  if thrown in another direction, the object  will travel down the River Rhine to the North Sea.

… if casted in another direction, it will go by way of the River Rhone into the Mediterranean Sea.

Although these three seas  – the Black Sea, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea –
…. are so far apart
…. and the three objects thrown from the same point have such widely separated destinations

…. the ultimate destiny of each object is determined, in the first instance, by the direction in which it is thrown!

How true is this of life too….

The choice of direction that we make in life, determines the destiny towards which we head into!

What is the choice of direction that we make in our spiritual life?

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus summoning His Twelve Disciples, naming them and giving them authoritative power and sending on the mission.

This act of the Lord was the acceptance and confirmation of the choice that these disciples had made…
… a choice to follow the Lord closer
… a choice to dedicate their lives for the Kingdom

These disciples would have been following the Lord for a while now…
• They had seen the great works and deeds that He had been performing
• They had listened to His wonderful teachings and instructions
• They had witnessed His life of compassion and love

Now, the Lord chooses His special Twelve from among the many disciples who had followed Him.

This choosing was done with a triple action…

1. Summoning

The Twelve were “summoned”…
… To “summon” or to “call to oneself” was as an officer would issue an order, or a master his servant
It assumes that there is an acceptance by the subject of the Lordship of the one who summons!

Jesus was accepted by the Twelve as the Master and Lord of their lives!

 Do I feel that I have been “summoned” by the Lord as a Christian?
 … Do I, then, give total allegiance and adherence to Jesus as the only Lord and ultimate Master of my life?

2. Authorizing

The Twelve were “authorized”…

Jesus, “gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness”

As a government officer who delegates and empowers with power, so the disciples are empowered by the Lord in their mission work.

• They are to be the extension of the person of Jesus
• They are to be extension of the ministry and work of Jesus.

 Do I put into effect, the authority that has been granted to me, by virtue of my consecration as a Baptized person, and be an instrument of bringing the healing strengthening power of Jesus into the lives of the needy and suffering people?

 Do I seek to live a holier life in order to preserve the power and to be worthy of the authority that I have been vested with ?

3. Naming
Biblically, naming is an external sign of a person called to “adopt” a new way of life, and “choosing” to walk in a path of closer union with the Lord.

The naming of the Twelve was also such an exterior symbol… of the disciples being called to “adopt” the “Jesus Way of Life and “choosing” to walk in the Way of the Cross that Jesus is to tread.

 Do I realize that I too have been “named” by the Lord – as He says in Is 43:1, “I have called you by name, You are Mine!” – and am called to “adopt” the “Jesus Way of Life”?
 Am I ready to constantly “choose” to walk in the path of closer union with the Lord  – even if it is the hard and suffering path of the Way of the Cross?

The choice of direction that we make in life, determines the destiny towards which we head into!

The Lord is waiting for our choice in life for Him…

May we pick Him as the “choice of our life” so that in Him may be our life and destiny!

God Bless! Live Jesus!