11: Mark 3:14: “to be with him”

“And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.” (Mark 3:14-15)

Often overlooked in this passage where Jesus appoints his twelve apostles is the first of the three mandates given to them. Before Jesus intends to send them out preaching and exorcizing he intends them to “be with him.”

What does he mean by this? France says it is “their personal involvement with and training by the master” and “is the essential prerequisite” of their being sent out (France, Mark, 159). And so it is with us, as well. Time “with” Jesus is as important and nonnegotiable now as it was then.

This is not, I think, a sequential process, though it may start that way. For the twelve it was an ongoing feature of their journeying with Jesus. Watching Jesus in action. Debriefing with him afterward. Taking one step forward and, sometimes, two steps backward. Growing through their failures more than their successes (which are precious few in this gospel), and finally, failing spectacularly at the end. It was this spectacular failure that marked their matriculation into apostleship.

What did they learn from being “with” Jesus that equipped them for their task? There’s a scene in The Fellowship of the Ring that may help. When Elrond declares the need to take the One Ring to Mordor and its destruction, the responses of the FoR are instructive.

Each of them dwarf, elf, human clamor to be the ring-bearer. “I” instead of the “We” was their operative instinct. Amid their arguing and shouting, little Frodo Baggins the hobbit cries out, “I will take it! I will take it! I will take the Ring to Mordor!” But he immediately adds, “Though… I do not know the way.”

Frodo’s humility in being willing to take on a necessary task that was too big for him touches the others. Gandalf commits, “I will help you bear this burden, as long as it is yours to bear.” Aragorn offers the protection of his sword. Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf offer their skills and experiences too. “And you have my bow!” responded Legolas. “And my ax!” followed Gimli. 

And Sam Gamgee, Frodo’s gardener and loyal hobbit friend, declares, “Mr. Frodo is not going anywhere without me!” 

This sense of humility in the face of the journey, sharing gifts and abilities, and Gandalf’s presence with them are suggestive.

-Unless we recognize that the task is too big and the journey too long for us, we will not persevere and endure.

-Unless we can help one another to discover our gifts and offer them the opportunity to serve as they have been gifted, we will never come together as a community.

-Unless we are “friends” who have each other’s back to the end, we will succumb to the rigors and trials of the crucible we enter.

-Unless we have desire and room for Gandalf (a Christ-figure) to be “with” us, we will wander aimlessly.

Surely, these are among the things we learn through spending time “with” Jesus throughout our lives. To know Jesus truly. To know ourselves well. And to see in each other both the reflection of Christ’s image and the neighbor claiming my care and concern. Those are essential prerequisites for the mission Christ entrusts to us. And they are lessons we never stop learning until we have fulfilled our baptismal vocation in death.

This time with Jesus apparently worked for that original group of twelve. Luke tells us this in Acts 4:13: “The leaders saw how bold Peter and John were. They also realized that Peter and John were ordinary men with no training. This surprised the leaders. They realized that these men had been with Jesus.”

They “had been with Jesus.” May we too be “with” him as well.