Year B Easter 7
Acts 1: 12-17, 21-2612 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, 16 “Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” 23 So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
Acts 1: 12-17, 21-26
© The New Revised Standard Version,
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989In the name of God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
They had been through an awful lot. The type of things that makes life really stressed, burdened, for anyone. Peter, and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas Bartholomew and Matthew, James and Simon and Judus, not the Judas who betrayed Jesus, but Judas the son of James. They had been through and great turmoil. They were the disciples, the followers of Jesus. First of all Judas Iscariot, the one they had called a friend, the one they had travelled with and eaten with, he had shown his true heart and had for a bit of money betrayed and handed over Jesus to be arrested. Then there were the trials and the fear of being recognised as one of Jesus followers, the persecution, and the torture and finally the death as they hoisted Jesus up on a cross. There were days of grief and tears and loneliness, but that suddenly changed to amazement and wonder, even doubt, when Jesus had appeared to the disciples and the women and a few other followers for some days, but then he was gone once more with the promise that there would be help for the disciples, the Spirit would come, God would be with them still.
And now the eleven disciples who remained and some women and Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers, were gathered together in a room upstairs. Perhaps they felt a bit like we do after a wedding where there is a sense of joy, but a sense of having said goodbye to someone you love, on top of the tired exhaustion. Or perhaps they felt the way we do after a funeral where people are gathered together and there is a touch of loneliness having said goodbye to the loved one; but there is company in being together. And as these men and women gathered together, there is a deep sense of the absence of Jesus, and there is also the realisation that Judas Iscariot has hung himself and that his body lies in the paddock known as the Field of Blood. What was once twelve chosen people, is now only eleven. Those who once felt sure, now feel unsure, insecure.
Peter then at that time stands among the people, and declares that because they are only eleven, another needs to be chosen to make twelve, one that had accompanied them during the life of Jesus, one that had been with them since the Baptism of Jesus, and on through all the events of his life until his death, his resurrection, and his going once more into heaven. They need someone who can be a witness to all these things. Two men are proposed one is named Joseph, who is called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and then there was Matthias.
And they prayed. And then they cast lots to decide.
The lot is like throwing a dice, or stone, or coin, to decide. It is like choosing the shortest straw to decide. Perhaps to us it seems like a strange thing to do to cast lots to make such a decision. For Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias, at the time, the lot meant everything between being included in the twelve, chosen and appointed, or being left out.
Many of you will be able to remember it, but I’ve only seen that black and white footage on television of numbers on small balls being lifted out of the wire tumbler; and the numbers indicated which birth dates of those men that would be sent to fight in Vietnam. And so if the 20th. of May was pulled out of the cage, and you were of the right age, then your lot had fallen, your destiny had been chosen, your life had been marked by another man’s hand, and so to Vietnam you went. Of course some refused to go, while others went as they were called to do, but either way, if your number was chosen, your life would be changed. To be chosen meant to be imprisoned, or scorned, or cheered, or death, or torment, or years of fighting for recognition and help, but to be chosen, no matter how you responded, meant change.
In some ways it almost seems unfair to have your life and prospects and hopes changed, just by the lot or draw of life. Certainly for Joseph Barsabbas who lost the drawing of the lot two thousand years ago, I don’t doubt it would have been a great loss.
It was very much a part of the Jewish faith, and the culture of the time, to decide questions of life by lot, by names written on stones, or by die, and there are other places in the Bible where we can read about the lot also; In King David’s household, the musicians cast lots to decide their duties, small and great, teacher and pupil alike; In the story of Jonah, they draw lots to see who would be thrown overboard; when Jesus was on the cross, the soldiers cast lots to decide who would get his clothing.
In the account of Jonah, as in today’s passage, the casting of the lot was seen as indicating the desire and will of God. And so for the disciples, the falling of the lot to Matthias rather than to Joseph Barsabbas would have shown the desire of God for Matthias to be the twelfth disciple, and that is why they pray in verse 24, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen…”
They prayed to God.
They asked God’s blessing.
The lot was drawn.
When you look back on your life there is a great deal of hard work and choice as to the things we have achieved and the way our life has been led and the things we have done in them. But there will also be events and happenings and situations that are not by work or by choice, but by chance or lot or accident or destiny; different people will use different words. They are things that just happened. Family, health or sickness, opportunity, ability, children, love, experiences, death… They are part of the lot of life, the way things are. I don’t believe that everything in life is predestined, organised, chosen, orchestrated by God, because then you have to believe that God inflicts people with sickness or poverty or handicap; people are born to parents in poverty just as they are born to parents of wealth. People are born into health as they are into sickness. Some good people die young while other destructive and evil people live on. For some their potential is realized and for others their gifts are lost. All these things are part of the lot of life, the way things are.
However within the lot of life, the way things are, the happenings of life, there is always the need for prayer, just as the followers of Jesus prayed before casting their lots. But I believe the prayer should not be about making God do what we want, it’s not about making the lot fall our way, although there is a lot of prayer like this within the Christian church. Bob Dylan as a great line in one of his songs… “Do you believe, that God is just an errand boy to satisfy our wandering desires…” Do you think Matthias prayed… “Lord, let me win the lot and be the one chosen”? While Joseph Barsabbas prayed… “Lord, let me win the lot and be the one chosen”. No.. instead the text says… 4 Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen …”
In life, there is always the need for prayer, but it is a prayer that God will bless life and be present within the events that occur. There is always the need to offer the events of life to God and to live within them in the knowledge of God’s presence along the way. There is the need to take God with us into the lot of life. As a minister you realize more and more that there is not a single person who has not experienced hardship and loss and struggle as well as the good, but you also realize that not everybody takes God and prayer into the midst of their events and their lives.
In the end it was Matthias who was chosen to be number twelve and Joseph Barsabbas missed out, but interestingly Matthias is never mentioned again whereas Joseph Barsabbas also called Justus is mentioned a little later on in the book of Acts when he travels with Paul and Barnabas to the church in Antioch. Obviously, although the lot had not fallen his way, he still persists in faith and in work for the church and for Christ.
Take God into all the areas of life, whatever that lot may be.
Be people of prayer asking God’s blessing upon you to give strength, or to enable change, or to give thanks.
And continue on along the way of Christ.
Amen.