49 One of the great losses in western civilisation over the past 30 years has been the loss of community. It's interesting, isn't it, that one of the enduring myths of Australian culture, the enduring self-image that we have, is the idea of mateship, and yet what we actually find is the opposite. Gone are the days when everyone knew the people who lived in their street. These days we're lucky if we even know the names of the people next door or across the street. And even in the church this can be a problem.
People are much more loath to just call in on fellow church members.
They feel like they need to be invited first. Yet the church was set up to be a community - a close knit family that reflected God's desire for all people. In today's reading from Luke 6 we find Jesus choosing 12 of his disciples to be apostles. That is, those who are sent out to proclaim the message of Jesus. These were to be the leaders of the new community of God's people.