THE LESSON OF SAINT MATTHIAS

May 14 is the Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle and Martyr.  The very first act that the apostles engaged in after the Ascension of Jesus was to find a replacement for Judas Iscariot.  Judas was one of the 12 apostles chosen by Jesus himself and it was Judas who later betrayed that trust and turned over Jesus to the authorities for thirty pieces of silver. With all the questions, doubts, and dangers facing them, they chose to focus their attention on finding a twelfth apostle. Why was this important?   They knew that they had to make whole what Judas had put asunder.  Twelve was a very important number to the Chosen People: twelve was the number of the twelve tribes of Israel. If the new Israel was to come from the disciples of Jesus, a twelvth apostle had to found.   

What a daunting task that must have been for those 11 others.  They must have had their doubts about how to accomplish such a thing but their trust in the Lord's power and his guidance gave them hope and comfort.  They gathered the disciples together for prayer.  That is a lesson in itself for all of us.  When faced with questions and big decisions, do we come to the Lord in prayer, opening our hearts to seek his guidance and strength?   In Acts 1:15 we read that Peter gathered in the upper room with 120 of the brethren and prayed.  

Another lesson we learn is that it is Peter from all the others - already recognized as the Head of the Church, the one chosen by Jesus himself to be the rock and foundation of the Church - that makes the calls for the office of Judas to be taken by another.  Peter had one criterion, that, like Andrew, James, John, and himself, the new apostle must be someone who had been a disciples from the very beginning of the ministry of Jesus - from the baptism by John in the Jordan until the Ascension.  Someone who had heard and seen all that Jesus had done. Clearly the one to be called "apostle" would need to become a credible witness to the saving death and Resurrection of Jesus.  He must have followed Jesus before anyone really knew him, stayed with him when he made enemies, and believed in him when he spoke of the cross and of eating his body -- teachings that had made others fall away because "it was all to much for them."  This calling is not for the faint of heart; this ministry belongs to one who can preach and teach the whole of the saving Gospel of the Son of God.

Two men fit this description -- Matthias and Joseph called Barsabbas. The brethren knew that both these men had been with them and with Jesus through his whole ministry. But which one had the heart to become a witness to his resurrection. The apostles knew that only the Lord himself could know what was in the heart of each and which one would best serve the Church as an apostle. In Acts 1:24-25, Peter prays, "Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one thou has chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside."  Then they cast lots in order to discover God's will and Matthias was chosen. He was the twelfth apostle and the group was whole again as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.  And so it is in every age of the Church.  The apostolic succession is not a work of men but a work of God, grounded in prayer and the firm belief that the Lord Jesus continues to select the successors to Peter and the apostles according to his divine will for the good of the Church.  

This is the first we hear of Matthias in Scripture, and the last. Apocryphal literature like the Acts of Andrew and Matthias testify to Matthias' enthusiastic embrace of all that being an apostle meant including evangelization, persecution, and death in the service of the Lord.  According to various traditions, Matthias preached in Cappadocia, Jerusalem, the shores of the Caspian Sea (in modern day Turkey) and Ethiopia.  He is said to have met his death by crucifixion in Colchis or by stoning in Jerusalem.  It is another lesson that we learn from Matthias.  This call is not about his own self-glory but for one sole purpose:  to give witness to Jesus Christ and to bring glory, praise and honor to his name. The task of the apostle is to preach the good news and bring people to faith in the one and only name through which we can find salvation:  Jesus Christ our Lord.  It is the lesson Matthias learned from John the Baptist:  I must decrease so he can increase.  It is a lesson that we in our lives of faith should take to heart and to embrace.  Life is less about ourselves and more about serving God and others.  That is the pathway to eternal life. 

St. Clement of Alexandria says that Matthias, like all the other apostles, was not chosen by Jesus for what he already was, but for what Jesus foresaw he would become. He was elected not because he was worthy but because he would become worthy. Jesus chooses all of us in the same way.  I am reminded of the words that begin the First Letter of Saint Peter:  "You were chosen by God the Father long ago.  He knew you were to become his children. You were set apart for holy living by the Holy Spirit.  May you obey Jesus Christ and be made clean by his blood.  May you be full of his loving-favor and peace."  (1 Peter 1:2-4)

Saint Matthias, pray for us!