“16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means ‘sons of thunder’), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” (Mark 3:16-19)
I’m sure that, at some point, we have all heard a sermon making the point that the original twelve called by Jesus were (humanly speaking) not natural choices as world-changers. As individuals some of them were deeply flawed – or should that simply be, “deeply human”? Perhaps it’s the same thing. As a group the dynamics of their relationships, their many failures and their slowness to learn often seem more to the fore than any signs of success or of bonding. They are frequently fractious, competitive, uncouth, stubborn, worldly, petty, and downright unspiritual. Yet these are the ones Jesus chose and called to follow Him. And He always seems to go out of His way to meet even more chaotic, disturbed, troubled, sick, insane, diseased, difficult, messy, spectacularly sinful, disruptive, needy people. He is always the One who in whom the misfits fit and the restless find rest. Remember this if you ever find yourself looking round your own congregation and starting to wonder, ‘Is there anyone ‘normal’ here? Am I the only one? How did he/she ever become part of this church?’ Just remember that quite probably everyone else is looking at you and wondering exactly the same thing. So, let’s see if we can make our own fellowship reflect the One who called us. Let’s see if we can become churches where the misfits fit and the restless find rest…just like Jesus.