THE POWER OF TWO

In the Gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ sent the twelve apostles two by two, to preach repentance, to cast out demons and to heal the sick. The Lord sent them to proclaim to everyone, in cities and villages, the Good News of salvation. Notable in this “diaspora” is the manner by which the apostles were sent: two by two. Would it be more profitable to send the twelve on their own and go to twelve different places? In that way they would be able to preach the gospel in more place, unlike the fewer places that the six pairs of apostles would be able to reach. But the Lord chose to send them two by two.    

The commandments of the Lord are summarized in two instructions alone; You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27). The love of God and neighbor is the gist of the Lord’s commandments. It is not the Love of God alone but of neighbor also. For if someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20).

 The Lord sent his apostles two by two for his most important precepts are two; Love of God and Love of neighbor. This precepts cannot be accomplish by less than two persons. One cannot truly love God without loving his neighbor. He would be deduce to being a liar. The apostles cannot authentically preach about love of God and of neighbor if they themselves have not experience such love; such difficulties and struggles in loving God and their “neighbors.” The apostles’ words could have been powerless if their very own lives did not manifest the very message they would like to communicate. Words proclaimed are empty, unless charged with actions; with witnessing. These words uttered by someone who experienced what these words mean, would really mean what they say. They would be able to preach the Lord’s Good News authentically, in words and deeds. All these through the help of one’s companion, with whom one breaks his bread with. The Lord, thus, sent his apostles two by two that they may be able to preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words (St. Francis).

We too, every day, are being sent by the Lord, not just two by two but by tens, hundreds, even thousands. We are being sent, as a community, as a family, to proclaim the Lord’s message of love in this modern world. We know the message and the precepts; love of God and neighbor. We have our companions; plenty of them. The great challenge is how are we to preach effectively; with powerful words. “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses (Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiadi).” We have to be witnesses of the message we would like to communicate to others. We have to love God, more so our brothers, our sisters. For it is only that we can call our preaching, that resonates from the very lives we live, a sacra praedicatio.