Two By Two

I have met some really good friends in church ministry. From working in the church nursery to leading a Bible study, to providing a meal for someone in need, working with a friend in ministry has made the work much more fun.

In Mark’s gospel, we read about Jesus sending his apostles out in pairs. Instead of sending them out individually, he sends them out two by two to share the good news. The apostles didn’t have to travel alone. This is a comforting thought and shows Jesus’ compassion because traveling alone can be no fun — especially to places you’ve never been.

I’ve had many friends placed in my life who I believe Christ paired me with on purpose! This got me thinking that maybe Christ is still sending us out in pairs today and for good reason. I’ve found having a ministry companion has made evangelization a much easier task, but there are other reasons Jesus might be using this plan.

Three years ago, I volunteered to be on the “missions” team for a retreat. Our job as a team was to introduce the retreat to another parish in the archdiocese and train them to run the retreat on their own. While on this project, I met a woman who I believe was providentially provided to be paired with me.

Her name is Ann and before this retreat, I had never met her. During one of the first project meetings, Ann and I discovered we had attended the same high school. Now normally this would be no big deal, except that our high school was about 400 miles away from our parish!

Ann and I worked together for several months preparing the other parish to hold their first retreat. We were on a team of about 30 other women, but the connection of being from the same home town drew us together. We had that bond of being students at the same high school with the same teachers and of both wearing a blue and white houndstooth-checked skirt for four years.

Over the course of several years, Ann and I worked together on numerous other committees. We traveled together to lead a group of homeless women in Bible study. We went on a Marian pilgrimage. We spent hours preparing to introduce a new retreat to our own parish.

Being paired with Ann helped me in serving the Lord. She helped me stay accountable to my commitments. She encouraged me when things in my life were tough. She taught me the faith because of her own knowledge. She kept me from being fearful in a dangerous neighborhood. Ann and I were paired together in Christ to go out and share the good news.

Seeing and noticing this providential pairing has given me confidence that God is taking care of me. He knew meeting someone from my home town would be comforting. He knew my strengths and weaknesses and provided a companion that complemented my personality. God has also shown me his sense of humor. One night Ann and I showed up at a church meeting wearing exactly the same outfit!

I do believe Jesus likes us having spiritual partners. He paired the first apostles together for a reason and even today those reasons are applicable. “Two are better than one: They get a good wage for their toil.” (Ecc 4:9) The most beautiful thing about being in a “pair” is that Jesus told us that “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 10:20) As a pair, we are assured Jesus is with us when we go out into the world to share the news. And that's a good thing!