I Have Called You Friends

May 14, 2012

Feast of St. Mathias

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 1:24-26

I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.  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 15:15b-17

Piety

Father, help us to rise above our rejection by the world.  Jesus, give us the satisfaction of knowing that we will remain in your love if we continue to carry out your commandments no matter what happens in life.  After all, it is not what we choose or what the world chooses -- it is all about who YOU choose.  Holy Spirit, allow us to focus only on what truly matters and not false feelings.  Amen.

Study

Matthias and Joseph Barsabbas (Justus) both were close friends of Jesus and all the remaining Apostles.   After all, the criteria that qualified them even to be considered to replace Judas was that they had to have been with Jesus from the baptism of John until the Resurrection.  While the church had grown in numbers, those who were there from beginning to the end must have been relatively few in number probably fewer than 120 total people could have been considered.

While the replacement of Judas had immense symbolic value to restore the number of Apostles to Twelve (depicting the tribes of Israel), the act of replacing him also had immense personal value in causing the Apostles to choose among two close friends.

There is little recorded in Scripture to teach us more about either man before or after this selection.  In fact, we have more records of figures like Lazarus, Nicodemus, Mary and Martha than of Matthias or Justus. 

Tradition has it that St. Matthias's Day is a day that is marked with luck because he was lucky enough to be chosen as the final Apostle.  That may be true but I likely will no more be heading out to buy any Powerball tickets today than I would yesterday or tomorrow.

However, the real figure which arouses my curiosity is Barsabbas.  How did he deal with NOT being selected?  If he was counted among those who walked with Jesus throughout the entire public ministry, how must he have felt to be passed over for this signal honor by his close friends?

In some ways, Barsabbas might have had a more Christ-like experience than Matthias.  Just as Jesus was rejected, he experienced rejection by his community.  Despite that, according to some sources, Justus went on to become a bishop. Tradition has it he died a martyr and is venerated as Saint Justus of Eleutheropolis.  In that way, he further remained in the spirit of Christ through this persecution from the world that resulted in his death.

Action

How do you deal with rejection?  When I was on my first Cursillo team experience for the Men's 106th Weekend, early in our formation, Rector Phil Russell asked the team members  what part of Christ did we bring to the weekend? 

All of us have felt rejection and know others who have had that experience.  Maybe we have been laid off from a job.  Maybe we did not get into the school that we really wanted to get.  Maybe our resume was passed over for that special position or promotion.  Maybe a close friend has turned away from us.

On a feast day like this, I probably should have dwelt upon how lucky we all are -- blessed through the accident of our birth to live in a rich and powerful nation.  However, despite his rejection experience, Joseph Barsabbas continued to witness to the Gospel in a region less than 100 miles from Jerusalem.  Are you able to cope with and rise above your rejection experience using it as a way to remain close to Christ and not turn away? Can you build upon this experience and continue to love one another?