St. Matthias, Apostle, Friday, May 14
Acts
1:15-17, 20-26 / John 15:9-17
Jesus
speaks about life; "Live in my love; keep my commandments. "
Three people were discussing some recent translations of the Bible.
The first said, "I like the New American Version. It's clearer than the older versions, which makes it easier to read." The second said, "I like the Jerusalem Bible. It's not only clearer but also more poetic, which makes it easier to pray from."The
third said, "I like my mother's translation best of all. She translated
the Bible into action, which makes it easier to apply to daily life." That's
what Jesus is talking about in today's reading. He's asking us to translate the
Bible into action.
***
How
faithful are we in translating the Bible into action? Our greatest need is not
to gain more knowledge, but to put into practice what we already know.
***
The
feast of St. Matthias is placed in the period between the Ascension of the Lord
and the feast of Pentecost. (In Some dioceses, the Ascension falls on the 7th
Sunday after Easter).
The
reason is that in the Acts of the Apostles, it was during this time that St.
Matthias was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. It was St. Peter who spelt out
the requisite - it must be someone who had been with them from the time Jesus
was going around with them till He ascended into heaven. But the most important
criterion was that the candidate should also be a witness of the resurrection.
So,
St. Matthias was not just someone who was with the apostles during all this
while; he was also a witness to the resurrection. He was a witness to the love
that God the Father had for Jesus in raising Him from the dead and glorifying
Him in the Ascension.
And
so, after prayer and the drawing of lots, St Matthias was chosen. But he was
not chosen simply to replace Judas. St. Matthias was chosen to witness to the
love that Jesus has for all of us. Eventually St. Matthias would also have to
witness to that love by laying down his own life in martyrdom. In St. Matthias
we can see that God will always call and choose persons to witness to His love
for us.
Yet
by virtue of our baptism we are also called and chosen. May we remain faithful
to that call and pray that we also fulfil God's choice of us.
***
Matthias was
elected by the apostles to replace Judas, the traitor, because he had been a
disciple of Jesus from the very beginning, from the time when Jesus was
baptized by John until the ascension. His qualification was, then, that he
could witness to the risen Christ. And so should we.
***
Prayer:
Lord
God, your apostle Matthias was a witness to the life and death of Jesus Christ and
to his glorious resurrection. May also today your people bear witness to the
life of your Son by living his life as best as they can, and radiating the joy of
people who are rising with him to a new and deeper life. We ask this through
Christ our Lord. Amen
