1st Reading: 1 Cor 6:1–11

Gospel: Lk 6:12–19
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 on a level place. 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 be healed of their diseases; likewise people troubled by evil spirits were healed. All the crowd tried to touch him because of the power which went out from him and healed them all.

Commentary
The careful reader will notice that the apostles are listed in pairs. The apostles do not stand in isolation, but in solidarity with one another. They will be sent out into the world in pairs to proclaim the Kingdom and establish the Church.
We live out our faith in communion with the Church. Often we find that we can do so much more to serve the Lord when we have a partner or are part of a group. “Many hands make light work,” both in the secular world and in the building up of the Kingdom of God.
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