
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 1:15-17, 20-26
Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place). He said, “My brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. Judas was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry. For it is written in the Book of Psalms: Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it. and: May another take his office. Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 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.
REFLECTION
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.”
In this beautiful passage in the Acts we are introduced to St Matthias, the person who took the place of Judas. St Matthias literally means, "the gift of Yahweh".
The apostles had now, with their leader St Peter, begun to do the work of Jesus and His Kingdom. They did have a problem and that was filling the slot left by Judas.
We can learn how they approached this problem. This was done through critical thinking, a PAPA approach to life and its problems.
First of all St Peter acknowledged there was a problem. He assessed what had happened (the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, who was one of them and who shared in the ministry).
Second, the Book of Psalms by David defined the necessity of finding one man who would take the place of Judas so the question was who would it be.
Third, the information or data was collected: the man had to have travelled with them beginning from the baptism by John, witnessed the Resurrection and was with them up to the day He was taken up from them.
Fourth, once the data was obtained, they had to interpret their facts. Was it to be Joseph, called Barsabbas, or Matthias, literal translation of "gift of Yahweh". Did they meet their qualifications?
Fifth, filter all assumptions or biases or prejudices by the other apostles and find the truth about these men.
Sixth, search for different points of view or opinions regarding the character, attitude and personality of the nominated.
Seventh, what would be the implications and consequences of their need to evangelize throughout the world and the new apostle chosen.
Eighth, then they prayed for the one chosen by the Holy Spirit to carry on this ministry would be revealed to them.
And the Holy Spirit chose St Matthias. He is noted for his work in Judea, Ethiopia and Jerusalem. He was martyred via decapitation and therefore, the axe in his right hand. He is the patron saint of alcoholics.
God Bless You
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