Gospel Commentary – September 9, 2025

One of my professors used to say: “The one who believes in you, creates you.” Playing with those two verbs—to believe and to create—he meant that believing in a person, trusting them, is so powerful that it can open up new possibilities for their future.

I would like to apply that phrase to Jesus’ choice of the apostles. Perhaps what Jesus did in that long night of prayer, before choosing the Twelve, was to strengthen His trust in them. He chose them simply because He trusted them. And by doing so, He opened them to a new future. Certainly, it was not an easy process. Looking at what happened later—especially when the difficult moments came and Jesus was left alone—we might almost say the choice was not a good one. They were, as the Gospels themselves repeat, slow to understand what Jesus was saying. Not only that, but after hearing all His preaching about the Kingdom and the fraternity of the children of God, they were still arguing about who was going to be the greatest in that Kingdom to come. And, as the final blow, at the moment of the cross, they all ran away.

But Jesus kept on believing in them, trusting them. Think of the scene of the Risen Jesus asking Peter if he loves Him and entrusting him with His flock. Think of the story that tells us how the Twelve went out into the whole world to preach. The trust Jesus placed in those men eventually bore fruit—fruits no one could have imagined at the moment of their election. That phrase, “the one who believes in you, creates you,” applies perfectly here. Jesus believed in them, and that faith made it possible for those poor twelve men to become apostles and foundations of the Church.

We often speak about our faith in God. Perhaps we should first speak about God’s faith in us, opening the door to a new life. And it would be good if we, too, could learn to place our trust in others, opening for them a new life—greater than what they themselves could ever imagine.