Jesus Chooses the Twelve

Mark 3:16-19
These are the names of the twelve he chose:

Simon (he renamed Peter),
James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them "sons of Thunder),
Andrew,
Phillip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James (Son of Alphaeus),
Thaddeaus,
Simon (the Zealot),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

It's just the list of names of the twelve. Wrong. Six of the twelve are differentiated by an annotation following their names. A footnote if you will to help us understand who they are. Some of the footnotes are helpful and gracious. Simon, the common man so profoundly remodeled by the Carpenter he gets a new name--Peter. He is different from Simon, the man who can never let it go. The man enthusiastically committed to everything it means to be a Jew. One of the footnotes is rather simple, just a family name added so he can't be confused with another--James, the Son of Alphaeus.

The list of names I have read many times before, but today the weight of two of the footnotes hit me. James and John are called not just the sons of Zebedee, but the "sons of thunder." Ouch! Sons of Thunder! Imagine being remembered as two men who were often quick to speak and maybe slow to think. Or perhaps it's a reference to all the times they stuck their foot in their mouths in one of Jesus discussions. Perhaps it is a reference to their untamed, unedified character--bulls in pottery shops throughout Galilee and Capernaum. What instance birthed the moniker? What personality traits led to the nickname? It's unclear, but it was true that they are remembered by the footnote.

Then there is Judas Iscariot. Did we really need the footnote? There is only one Judas? And we know his family name? Was it needed to include the parenthetical (who later betrayed him)?

Then it hit me, we have little control over the addition of footnotes. They will just be added to our lives. Some will be descriptive. Some will be kind. Some may be gracious. But we need to realize that some might be reminders of weak character, or our biggest failure.

Some footnotes could be infamous like:

OJ (the guy who likely killed his wife)
Mark McGuire (the guy who juiced his way into the record books)
Michael Vick (the guy who went to prison for Dog fighting)
Jimmy Swaggart (the televangelist who frequented hookers)
Some could be just as defeating:

John (the liar),
Bob (the loud one),
Bill (the immoral),
Jana (the one who walked away from God),
Carol (the pew sitter)
Tina (the judgmental)
Dave (the adulterer),
It got me thinking. What footnotes will be written to describe my life?