Word to the Wise
Friday, May 14, 2021 - May 14 - St. Matthias, Apostle
[Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 and John 15:9-17,635]"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." So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbus, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place." Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles. [Acts]
The necessity to choose a successor to Judas Iscariot was based on the importance of the number twelve. The early church saw itself as the continuation of the original twelve tribes of Israel and it would be the "new Israel." The person to be chosen had to have been part of the original group of disciples in Galilee and probably a disciple, at first, of John the Baptist and also one of those who first learned of the resurrection of Jesus so that he could bear witness with the other Eleven. It is on this original apostolic witness that the church was founded.
After his selection, Matthias disappears into untold history. The method by which he was chosen - basically by flipping a coin or throwing dice or drawing straws - is certainly not the way in which a pope or bishop is chosen nowadays. At least I've never heard that there are dice sitting on the pope's desk! Matthias' importance rests on his continued faith in Jesus from the outset of Jesus' ministry and as a member of the Twelve whose faith and witness we continue whenever we gather to worship. AMEN