Word to the Wise
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 - May 14 - St. Matthias, Apostle
[Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 and John 15:9-17]This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.....It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another. [John]
One of the first things the disciples did after the ascension of Jesus was to choose someone to replace Judas so that the special group of apostles would be complete at twelve. That number corresponded to the twelve tribes of Israel and indicated the idea of the church as a "new Israel." The method - the equivalent of throwing dice - to choose between two qualified candidates was interesting. Can one imagine Pope Leo XIV doing that to appoint bishops?
Jesus' words in the Last Supper discourse are helpful in understanding the role the apostles and other disciples were asked to exemplify. They would be laying down their lives for others. They were to love as Jesus loves and this love was to bear fruit that lasts. We are the result of their dedication. Jesus chose them to begin with, but they would have to choose Jesus as a result of what would follow. The rest, as the saying goes, is history! All the bishops of the church are considered "successors of the apostles." But they need our help and support as well. Bearing fruit that remains takes a lot of work and workers! AMEN