Genesis 49:1
Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, "Assemble yourselves that I may tell you
what will befall you in the days to come.
Here we see Israel (Jacob) gathering his twelve sons before his death and
blessing each one of them as his heirs.
Mark 3:13-14
"And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and
they came to Him.
And He appointed twelve..."
And here we see the Lord calling to himself the twelve from whom the new Israel
(the Holy Church) was to come forth and appointing them to their thrones.
That the Lord chose twelve of them instead of eleven or thirteen is significant.
In Jesus's time the twelve tribes of the twelve sons of Jacob were not
distinctly visible and had been absorbed into neighboring tribes and countries
except for those tribes like Judah. So the act was highly symbolic rather than
bearing physical resemblance to the twelve tribes.
Just as Jacob blessed his twelve sons and they went forth to become the great
nation of Israel, Jesus blessed the twelve apostles and they went forth to
become the new Israel.
There is an implicit blessing in the appointment and a heartfelt prayer from the
Lord for each one of them to do well (even for Judas Iscariot). The appointment
"ceremony" is depicted in the Gospels by a simple verse, often read through
without much thought, but armed by hindsight as we dwell back on the
significance of that one act, we realize that this was where it all started, and
begin to understand the significance of the great event. A simple act that had
great significance in deciding the direction of human history.
The Lord who said "I have prayed for you" (Luke 22:32) when he saw the danger
that was lurking so close to a wavering Peter, would have surely prayed for
Thomas and his dangerous mission to the far East. He would have blessed Thomas
as he appointed him to the throne of the guardian of the East, knowing how much
he would have had to suffer for His Gospel in India.
The blessing would have strengthened and given courage to Thomas and built his
character, starting from that blessed day. That the Lord is praying for him and
has blessed him would have been his inspiration.
For us from India, the blessing of the appointment on that day should also be
seen as a blessing for India and the far east where Thomas was to build the
Lord's church later. That day, the plan for India and the Church of the East was
unravelled, that day India and the Malankara Orthodox Church was blessed too,
through Thomas, the Catholicose-Patriarch of the East. Through Thomas, who
represented us before the Lord that day - we were blessed too, by that most
significant appointment. The Lord's prayer and blessing guards the throne of St.
Thomas, set apart on that day of the appointment, for the East, from all
challenges, through all ages - right till this very day. Praise the Lord!
Christ is Risen!
Mathew Samuel
Albany, NY
Part 4: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/23298
(my dear and esteemed readers, please forgive me for repetitions, often
deliberate in this series to drive home the point - these are just simple
meditations and passing unfiltered thoughts from my untrained mind, not meant to
lecture you, but there is a hope that this effort will somehow be useful to
someone somewhere, just as it has been for me - hence sharing it, for
correction, feedback and for my education through you. Thank you for reading.)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/23332
Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, "Assemble yourselves that I may tell you
what will befall you in the days to come.
Here we see Israel (Jacob) gathering his twelve sons before his death and
blessing each one of them as his heirs.
Mark 3:13-14
"And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and
they came to Him.
And He appointed twelve..."
And here we see the Lord calling to himself the twelve from whom the new Israel
(the Holy Church) was to come forth and appointing them to their thrones.
That the Lord chose twelve of them instead of eleven or thirteen is significant.
In Jesus's time the twelve tribes of the twelve sons of Jacob were not
distinctly visible and had been absorbed into neighboring tribes and countries
except for those tribes like Judah. So the act was highly symbolic rather than
bearing physical resemblance to the twelve tribes.
Just as Jacob blessed his twelve sons and they went forth to become the great
nation of Israel, Jesus blessed the twelve apostles and they went forth to
become the new Israel.
There is an implicit blessing in the appointment and a heartfelt prayer from the
Lord for each one of them to do well (even for Judas Iscariot). The appointment
"ceremony" is depicted in the Gospels by a simple verse, often read through
without much thought, but armed by hindsight as we dwell back on the
significance of that one act, we realize that this was where it all started, and
begin to understand the significance of the great event. A simple act that had
great significance in deciding the direction of human history.
The Lord who said "I have prayed for you" (Luke 22:32) when he saw the danger
that was lurking so close to a wavering Peter, would have surely prayed for
Thomas and his dangerous mission to the far East. He would have blessed Thomas
as he appointed him to the throne of the guardian of the East, knowing how much
he would have had to suffer for His Gospel in India.
The blessing would have strengthened and given courage to Thomas and built his
character, starting from that blessed day. That the Lord is praying for him and
has blessed him would have been his inspiration.
For us from India, the blessing of the appointment on that day should also be
seen as a blessing for India and the far east where Thomas was to build the
Lord's church later. That day, the plan for India and the Church of the East was
unravelled, that day India and the Malankara Orthodox Church was blessed too,
through Thomas, the Catholicose-Patriarch of the East. Through Thomas, who
represented us before the Lord that day - we were blessed too, by that most
significant appointment. The Lord's prayer and blessing guards the throne of St.
Thomas, set apart on that day of the appointment, for the East, from all
challenges, through all ages - right till this very day. Praise the Lord!
Christ is Risen!
Mathew Samuel
Albany, NY
Part 4: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/23298
(my dear and esteemed readers, please forgive me for repetitions, often
deliberate in this series to drive home the point - these are just simple
meditations and passing unfiltered thoughts from my untrained mind, not meant to
lecture you, but there is a hope that this effort will somehow be useful to
someone somewhere, just as it has been for me - hence sharing it, for
correction, feedback and for my education through you. Thank you for reading.)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/23332
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