The faithful eleven, that sounds like it would be the name of a pledging fraternity line. "On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eleven pipers piping." We're approaching the final stretch of the season of Christmas. In the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," the eleven pipers represent the eleven faithful disciples of Jesus. These guys were his crew, his posse, his homies. The eleven faithful were Simon, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James bar Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas bar James. This list does not include Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus over to the Roman authorities. Interestingly enough these fellows all have churches named after them in various denominations.
More importantly, the eleven faithful disciples and Judas responded to Jesus' call to follow me. Some were fishermen, tax collectors and doctors. These guys walked first hand with Jesus. They heard his teachings, they witnessed his miracles both before and after the resurrection. They dropped what they were doing to be followers of Christ. That is what Jesus is calling us to be, faithful followers who will reach out to others in concern and compassion. I'm not going to dismiss Judas Iscariot too quickly, because without Judas, there would not have been a betrayal. Often times those that betray us, often catapult us into God's will. Faithful is HE who calls us. As he his faithful, let us also be faithful to his word and will at work in us, as was demonstrated by the faithful eleven. Semper fe.
Peace and Christmastide Blessings,
Karsten
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