Why does Jesus summon the Twelve? For them “to preach and to have authority and to drive out demons.” This is actually quite astounding. Jesus wants the Apostles to speak on His behalf, and to do so about Him. It is hard enough speaking about someone else, but given how often the Twelve seemed confused even on basic points about Jesus’ mission, this is a tremendous amount of trust. Yet, Jesus wishes to invite others to speak about Him, in order to spread the gospel.
Their mission is likewise ours. We cannot only be content in our relationship with Jesus, happy with all that our faith does for us and nobody else. The gospel must be spread, Jesus’ name must be proclaimed. While this does certainly involve actions, it also just as certainly will involve words: preaching and proclaiming in an explicit fashion. How can we do this? The same way as the Apostles did. Jesus called the Apostles to preach, but be fore that, He called them “that they might be with Him.” Draw close to Jesus, come to know Him, and share that knowledge with the world.