Word to the Wise
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - St. Matthias, apostle
[Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 and John 15:9-17]Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.
The episode in which Matthias is picked to become one of the "Twelve" is full of all kinds of intriguing questions, Why pick someone to replace Judas? It is a reminder to us that even someone picked by Jesus can go bad! The method of choice for the replacement is also interesting: criteria (given above - which we modern folks euphemistically call, "surfacing names"), nominations (Matthias and Joseph), prayer, and THEN - throwing dice or whatever served that purpose! I wonder if this process would work for bishops or presidents? The necessity to complete the company of the Twelve seems related to the idea that Jesus had constituted a "New Israel" and this New Israel was to go out and challenge the old one as well as the rest of the world. The role of the apostles as physical and then symbolic guarantors of the authenticity of the Lord's message would develop into the episcopacy in the form of their successors. It is this succession in faith and history, no matter how chosen, that is one of the marks of the Catholic Church. From the very beginning we see that the apostles (and their successors) are very human and the name of Judas would become synonymous with "traitor." The name of Matthias disappears from view after his selection as one of the apostles. What is important is to know why he was nominated: he had accompanied Jesus from the very beginning and could be a witness to his resurrection. That's about all we can say about him. Come to think about it, this is what any Christian is called to be! AMEN
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