Word to the Wise
Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 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 story of Matthias' selection as one of the apostles is filled with questions. One that occurs right away is WHY there had to be a replacement for Judas? Was it simply because Jesus chose twelve? If so, why, then, did Jesus choose twelve in such a way that after his death and resurrection the "Eleven" felt that they had to become "the Twelve" again? The general answer is that the number corresponded to the original twelve tribes of Israel and the new community was seeing itself as a "new Israel." Jesus does refer to the apostles sitting on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel [Matthew 19:28]. In any case, there does not seem to have been any debate THAT they would replace Judas. The next step is the one that provides a kind of job description as well as selection criteria. It had to be someone "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" who would "become with us a witness to his resurrection." So, the new guy had to be someone who knew Jesus before his death and had been part of the events surrounding his resurrection! The third step is a prayer that the Lord "who knows the hearts of all" would reveal his will in "the lots." The last step was "giving lots!" Matthias won the toss, as it were! Then he promptly disappears from history! Needless to say, this method is not the current one in use for the selection of the "successors of the apostles!" The feast of any of the apostles is a reminder that our church is rooted in the history and theological understanding of the covenant God made with the tribes of Israel and continued through the ministry of Jesus who passed this task on to the church under the service of the Twelve! Any further hopes that the method of choosing Matthias might be restored in current usage are likely to be frustrated! AMEN
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