You are sitting in Mass, struggling to pay attention to the words of the Priest as he prays over the gifts on the altar.
A few babies are fussing and there is an occasional cough and sneeze, but soon you hear those long lists of names …
“Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude; Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian … and all your Saints!”
Whew … that was a long list!
But wait, there is more. After a few more prayers, another long list …
“Graciously grant some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia … and all your Saints.
Who were all these people? And why do we honor their memory at a most crucial time of the Liturgy?
Today, Holy Mother Church celebrates the Feast Day of St. Matthias – mentioned above (second set of names, 3rd person, after John the Baptist and Stephen).
Who was Matthias?
In very simple terms, he was the “guy who replaced Judas.”
Judas, you recall, had betrayed Jesus and hung himself after His arrest. The events of the Passion take place, followed by the Resurrection and then, after Jesus ascends into heaven, we read the account of the replacement of Judas, bringing the number of apostles back to 12.
After all, 11 apostles just doesn’t seem quite right, does it?
In reality, there were dozens of “apostles” who had either followed Jesus from afar during this ministry, or had been otherwise converted by some spiritual experience (like Paul, being knocked off his horse).
But when it came time to choose a single individual to replace Judas, Peter led a discernment – not an election – but a gathering in prayer where they asked the Holy Spirit to choose from one of two men who had been part of the larger group from the beginning.
It all boiled down to Matthias and “Joseph called Barsabbas (or Justus).”
Lots were cast and the luck of the lot fell on Matthias, who went on to spread the Gospel before he was stoned or beheaded (or both) at Colchis or Jerusalem. We don’t know where because after this mention in the Acts of the Apostles, we don’t have much else to go on.
We have even less on the “loser” of the lots … Joseph Barsabbas, although it is believed he became a bishop … which meant he also dedicated his life to spreading the Gospel.
I read a little about Saint Matthias and learned that he is the patron saint of alcoholics, recovering alcoholics, carpenters, tailors, those with smallpox, and those in need of perseverance and hope.
I might suggest he also be considered the patron saint of “alternate jurors” or “relief pitchers in baseball,” or any person who is called upon to fill in for someone else.
In truth, we are all called to be like Matthias, in the way that we are asked to be the hands of Jesus on earth – who cannot be here physically to feed the hungry, visit the sick and help the poor, but who inspires us to do that on His behalf.
And although we don’t like to think about those times when we are not chosen to be part of the team – whether it’s a baseball team, a jury of 12 or a vocation to the Priesthood or Religious Life – we probably all share some connection to Joseph Barsabbas, the loser in today’s readings.
Just think, both men could have reacted quite differently to the way things panned out. Both Matthias and Joseph Barsabbas could have let their pride get in the way of their service. “Oh, you want us now … but we were not good enough before?” They might have rejected the call of the other apostles as coming “too little, too late.”
That would be acceptable in today’s “me-me-me” society. But fortunately for many, they swallowed their pride and humbly accepted the results of that discernment.
Kind of like the way our popes accept their roles when the white smoke comes rolling out of the Vatican chimney. Chosen, they are … but not by men.
And chosen YOU are … not by men … but by God.
Don’t feel qualified to be a chosen disciple?
My good friend Cindy has a saying … “Remember, God does not choose the qualified … he QUALIFIES the CHOSEN.”
And as Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel:
“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.”
