(Matthew 9:35-10.8)

35Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’ 1Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. 5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” 8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

In the passage for this week Jesus announces the coming of the Kingdom of heaven and chooses 12 people to help him to fashion the new world that he is creating. Jesus is like a visionary football manager who takes over a struggling club that has fallen on hard times (cf Roques 2003). The team is a mixture of old pros that have never made the grade and young hopefuls who now never will. The ground is dilapidated and the fans are disillusioned. Then new owners take over the club and the manager is given money to bring in new players. He buys a French player from Arsenal, an Italian from AC Milan. A budding young talent emerges through the youth ranks and an ex-England international that had begun his career at the club makes an emotional return. The new players ooze class and style and they bring fresh tactics and skill to the team. Flans flood back, good times return and within five years the European Cup has been won. Winning the European Cup is football's equivalent of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Working for justice and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom is less socially glamorous but it is more worthwhile.

If Jesus were the football manager then the disciples would be his players. Here, I imagine the call of three of the disciples thinking of them as members of a football club

1. Peter is the tough, uncompromising centre half.
2. James is the energetic all action midfielder
3. Judas is the assistant coach. He is not sure about the tactics Jesus uses

Peter

My name is Peter. I play centre half in the team and the boss made me captain. A modern day player in my position is John Terry who plays for Chelsea. Jesus saw me as a big, imposing and powerful character. That that is why he wanted me in the centre of the defence. I was still surprised to be made captain because I am an impetuous character and I often seemed to get things wrong. I am not a careful thinker who looks at all the options before making a decision. Over the season I gave away a number of goals because I got caught out of position. People tell me that I am impulsive, boisterous and prone to constant mistakes. I have always thought that it is better to have a go and to get it wrong than to be too nervous to try anything new for fear of making mistakes

Peter is remembered for his confident claim that he would always follow Christ, after which he denied him three times.  Peter changed after Christ’s resurrection and after Pentecost, he became the leader of the disciples, the first to perform a miracle, an inspiring and fearless preacher of the gospel.  Peter was the author of two letters and as an old man was martyred in Rome crucified, upside-down on an x-shaped cross, ,

James

My name is James. I played in the midfield. A modern player in my position was, until recently, Roy Keane the midfield enforcer who played for Manchester United. I am the sort of player that every team needs in the centre of the park. I will chase after the ball and close down the opposition. I will go in hard and tackle the opposition when we lose the ball. I play with passion and want to win every game. John is my brother and we play in the team together. Jesus calls us the  “sons of thunder”. We both have fiery temperaments and can be quick to fly off the handle. I am constantly in trouble with referees and I have been sent off a number of times during my career.

James, his brother John and Peter were Jesus’ closest disciples. They formed his inner circle,  and on several occasions were taken off with him apart from the rest. James was behaeded by the orders of King Herod (Acts 12:2). John is believed to be the author of the gospel of John and many scholars also attribute the book of Revelation to him.  He is also referred to as the “disciple Jesus loved.” John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The Apostle John was later freed and returned to what is now modern-day Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

Judas

My name is Judas. I was the Assistant Coach for the football team. The trouble was that I did not always agree with the way that Jesus wanted to see the game played. He was a great fan of the passing game and wanted to see football as an entertainment. He wanted people to love him and to understand what he was trying to achieve. I was more pragmatic than Jesus. I thought that what was important was to win. If this meant cutting a few corners, then so be it - the ends will always justify the means. I would like to have contributed more to the running of the team but felt that Jesus did not always want to hear what I had to say.