What is an apostle?
Apostles were those entrusted by Jesus to help build the church and spread the message of His teachings. The word apostle comes from the Greek word, ‘apostello’, meaning a messenger or one sent on a mission.
While we all are called to spread the Good News, not everyone is given the gift of apostleship by the Holy Spirit, but we are certainly a very important part of the mission. We have the privilege of living and witnessing the Gospel entrusted to us by Jesus Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel tells the stories of the apostles who were the first to be a part of God’s Mission.
God’s Mission is to bring about the ‘world’ God desires, the Kingdom or Reign, of God. Jesus’ Mission is from God, and that is to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom.
Jesus formed a community of disciples, ‘discipulus’ means ‘learner’ for mission. Firstly, Jesus called His apostles and then He called His disciples.
We are encouraged to follow the example of the Apostles in witnessing the life lessons of Jesus. They suffered and were persecuted, but they placed their confidence in God and now they rejoice in heaven. We too must have confidence in God and not be troubled in our adversities. We look to Jesus as the Apostles did and prayer to Him offering our hopes, dreams and concerns knowing that He will guide us on life’s journey.
