RBWords

     There is a wonderful old hymn, "What a friend we have in Jesus!"  It captures much of the intimacy that could be ours if we take seriously Jesus' words in today's gospel scripture.  He asks us to love one another as he loves us and then he speaks of his love for us as the love of one friend for another.  And the greatest love that a friend can have is to give one's life for that friend.  It is clear in the New Testament that Jesus attracted friends who stayed with him for his entire ministry.  It was this kind of person that the apostles looked for when seeking a replacement for Judas.  There was a desire to maintain an identity of apostle as one of twelve. (The number, twelve, reflected a consciousness that the new community of believers was a kind of New Israel, which had been a confederation of twelve tribes descending from the twelve sons of Jacob.)

     The process of choosing Matthias as an apostle was probably as good as any!  Surface names of equally qualified individuals and then throw dice!  I think that would simplify a lot of the elections in my own Dominican Order!  What is important is that the people who are nominated show the same love and commitment described by Jesus in the gospel for today.  A desire for power, shown so much in our national political processes, is not a good sign.  A desire to love and serve is the best sign.  It is only that desire that can make the headaches of leadership worthwhile enduring!  Matthias, as an apostle, drops off the historical radar after his selection, but his qualifications remain as a way of choosing leadership - love and service for friends.  AMEN