“Joseph
Called Barsabbas” by Melanie Rigney
(@melanierigney)
So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 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 1:23-26)
The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
(Psalm
113:8)
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 15:16-17)
Piety
Lord, help me to accept Your role, large or small, for me on earth.
Study
They drew
lots. Matthias was selected to join the apostles.
But what of
Joseph, called Barsabbas?
We never hear
of him again in the New Testament. (He’s not to be confused with Judas, called
Barsabbas, who later along with Silas is chosen to go to Antioch with Paul and
Barnabas.)
The general
thinking is that he was among the seventy-two disciples mentioned in Luke 10:1.
Surely, to have been proposed as an apostle, he must have been regarded as holy
and Spirit-filled. There’s a story that he once drank poison and didn’t even
get sick. There’s also some thought that he became a bishop and suffered a
martyr’s death. But we don’t know.
Was Barsabbas
disappointed, or did he immediately go to Matthias and congratulate him? Did he
protest that it wasn’t fair, and ask the others to go best two out of three and
cast lots again? Did he go home and sulk? Did he stop believing?
I’d like to
think the others reassured Barsabbas of his value to the community, and that he
shrugged it off and soldiered on, continuing to spread the Good News. After
all, he didn’t need to be one of the Twelve to do that.
I like this
man of whom we know so little, this footnote of Christian history. After all,
things don’t always turn out the way we’d like either. Maybe we run for Parish
Council and lose, or we volunteer a lot of time and treasure to a humanitarian
organization—and yet someone we know, just know, didn’t do as much is chosen as
the benefit dinner’s honoree. Maybe it’s something more personal that we’ve
prayed and prayed and prayed for, and the answer we keep getting is “not now,”
“no,” or just silence. It can be tempting to come up with a way to pay back our
community (not to mention God) for these perceived injustices and slights, a
way that may involve a lot of passive-aggressiveness. The temptation to do so
is only human. But instead, may we find the faith and grace to shrug it off and
soldier on, remembering it is He, not our name on a program or plaque, who
determines our worth.
Action
Offer up any
feelings you’ve had about being passed over by God or His people.
No comments:
Post a Comment