The call to be apostles of today

In the first reading from Hebrews 8:6-13 today we hear the writer state that Jesus has been given a ministry of a much higher order than that of the priests of the first covenant. He has come to fulfil the covenant promise, ''I will be their God and they shall be my people.'' His mission was to proclaim the good news of the presence of God's kingdom in himself and through him to all those who accepted his teaching and believed in him. It was a tremendous mission and to carry it out, Jesus called on a group of twelve to be with him and to accompany him. They were the 12 apostles whose calling we hear about in today's gospel from Mark 3:13-19. Their shared with Jesus in his activities and after the Resurrection received the final commission to continue the work of Jesus. ''Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you and remember, I am with you always.'' (Matthew 28:19-20). The Apostles were the foundation members of the first communities formed in the name of Jesus. I wonder how many of us remember the names of all of them. They performed their task so well that we, 2000 years later, are following the life and teachings of the same Jesus. In fact we are called to be apostles of today. As we will hear in the second reading from 1 Corinthians on Sunday, ''Now you together are Christ's body; but each of you is a different part of it.'' Some are called to proclaim the Word at Mass, others to visit the sick and lonely, others to be cheerful and supportive at work and still others to work for justice. Help us, Lord, to discover the part that you have given to each of us to play and may your Holy Spirit guide us to carry it out faithfully.