Choices

Homily for the Feast of St. Matthias

Every day of our lives is filled with making choices. Those choices are often complicated by the fact that the trend in our modern society is that every choice features some kind of competition; we compete for attention, for employment, to win championships, and, unfortunately, even for friendship and love. This kind of competition begins even in our childhood as we wait while the team captain chooses who he wants on his team. One area where we never have to compete is in the quest for God’s love. Jesus says to the disciples: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.” The words in that statement are very plain and ordinary, but the content is probably difficult for all of us to really grasp. We like to feel and think so often that we initiate all the important things in our lives. Be that as it may, we must admit that it would be completely against God’s nature to leave some people unchosen. God calls each and every one of us into a loving relationship not because of what we can do but because of who we are.

Amid today’s world of competitive tryouts and personal accolades, the story of Matthias in the Acts of the Apostles as well as the Gospel text for this day seems to depend upon a random result of casting lots. The contemporary understanding of “casting lots” is one of gambling – a form of leaving things to chance or luck. For the people of the ancient near East, it was just the opposite. It was considered a form of divination, that is, “divining” or discerning what God intended. Absent a spokesperson or a prophet to tell them, they would pray and then allow inanimate objects to speak God’s will for them.

The Gospels tell us that while there were only twelve apostles, there were seventy-two disciples who at one time during the life of Jesus were sent out, two by two, on a missionary journey. Matthias was undoubtedly one of the seventy-two. He would, therefore, fulfill the one main concern for filling the role of Judas among the Twelve; namely, that he was someone who was an eyewitness to the life of Jesus. Jesus himself says that the disciples are to be witnesses of the resurrection which is why St. Peter announces that it must be one of those who kept company with Jesus throughout his days of preaching and healing.

Today’s feast is a way for us to call to mind that we are God’s chosen one, God’s choice. This realization is something that will bring us joy and, hopefully, a joy that is complete.