Biographical Information about St. Matthias[1]
Readings for the Feast of St. Matthias[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Acts 1:15-17, 20-26
We are, on the Feast of Matthias, given the story of how he came to be called as the one to replace Judas. St. Peter assumes the leadership role noting that even the betrayal by Judas was predicted by Holy Scripture.
The two verses omitted (18,19) give St. Luke’s account of the death of Judas which differs from Matthew’s account (in Luke’s version, he buys property with his ill gotten gains and is killed in a gruesome fall). We see here how the Church’s tradition of selecting leaders from among the membership is developed with prayer and a vote.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
A song of praise and thanksgiving, Psalm 113, in this selection, focuses appropriately on servants of the Lord and how these leaders are lifted up from “the lowly”.
Gospel John 15:9-17
This selection is part of the discourse on the union of Jesus with his disciples. His words become a monologue and go beyond the immediate crisis of Christ’s departure. In this passage Jesus focuses on the chain of love from the Father, through the Son, to us. There is much made of the use of the difference in the Greek words for ‘love’ used in this discourse. When Jesus says ‘No one has greater love than this…’ the word agapao (intimate, selfless love) is used while when he says ‘You are my friends…’ the word phileo (casual ‘friendly’ (brotherly) type of love) is used. St. John uses the two words synonymously so the message is clear – reiterated at the end of the passage – ‘Love one another.’
The Church applies this scripture as the key means by which Christ selects an Apostle. These are the commandments most acutely given to those who will be the first to spread the word.
Reflection:
Today we celebrate the selection of St. Matthias who was chosen by the Apostolic Community to replace Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ. There are a couple of interesting things we notice from the reading in Acts. First there were two men chosen as candidates. (the one not selected, Barsabbas, ended up going with Paul back to Antioch) Note that one of the requirements for this position was that the selected needed to have been with Jesus from the time Jesus began his public ministry (“…beginning from the baptism of John”) through the end (“…until the day on which he was taken up from us”).
This would mean that, from the beginning of Jesus public ministry there were not just a few people with him, but some larger number (at one point we know he sent out 72). The image of this larger group following him about changes the picture of just Jesus and his 12 friend traveling about to an entourage of varying size. It also heightens the threat that must have been perceived by the Hebrew leadership. Finally, it also shows just how much Jesus, the man, must have thought he lost when he came to the passion and all his friends had deserted him.
Today we see the “Eleven” bring the core number of Apostles up to the symbolically correct number of Twelve, representative of the twelve tribes of the “New Israel”. Like most of his fellow guardians of the truth, Matthias would be martyred for his courage in proclaiming Christ crucified. And the Gospel today gives us the principle message they took to the world, the message of love and mutual fidelity. Ironic what a threat that commandment is to those who love the world but detest the light..
Pax
[1] The icon today is of St. Matthias, artist UNKNOWN
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
Readings for the Feast of St. Matthias[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Acts 1:15-17, 20-26
We are, on the Feast of Matthias, given the story of how he came to be called as the one to replace Judas. St. Peter assumes the leadership role noting that even the betrayal by Judas was predicted by Holy Scripture.
The two verses omitted (18,19) give St. Luke’s account of the death of Judas which differs from Matthew’s account (in Luke’s version, he buys property with his ill gotten gains and is killed in a gruesome fall). We see here how the Church’s tradition of selecting leaders from among the membership is developed with prayer and a vote.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
A song of praise and thanksgiving, Psalm 113, in this selection, focuses appropriately on servants of the Lord and how these leaders are lifted up from “the lowly”.
Gospel John 15:9-17
This selection is part of the discourse on the union of Jesus with his disciples. His words become a monologue and go beyond the immediate crisis of Christ’s departure. In this passage Jesus focuses on the chain of love from the Father, through the Son, to us. There is much made of the use of the difference in the Greek words for ‘love’ used in this discourse. When Jesus says ‘No one has greater love than this…’ the word agapao (intimate, selfless love) is used while when he says ‘You are my friends…’ the word phileo (casual ‘friendly’ (brotherly) type of love) is used. St. John uses the two words synonymously so the message is clear – reiterated at the end of the passage – ‘Love one another.’
The Church applies this scripture as the key means by which Christ selects an Apostle. These are the commandments most acutely given to those who will be the first to spread the word.
Reflection:
Today we celebrate the selection of St. Matthias who was chosen by the Apostolic Community to replace Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ. There are a couple of interesting things we notice from the reading in Acts. First there were two men chosen as candidates. (the one not selected, Barsabbas, ended up going with Paul back to Antioch) Note that one of the requirements for this position was that the selected needed to have been with Jesus from the time Jesus began his public ministry (“…beginning from the baptism of John”) through the end (“…until the day on which he was taken up from us”).
This would mean that, from the beginning of Jesus public ministry there were not just a few people with him, but some larger number (at one point we know he sent out 72). The image of this larger group following him about changes the picture of just Jesus and his 12 friend traveling about to an entourage of varying size. It also heightens the threat that must have been perceived by the Hebrew leadership. Finally, it also shows just how much Jesus, the man, must have thought he lost when he came to the passion and all his friends had deserted him.
Today we see the “Eleven” bring the core number of Apostles up to the symbolically correct number of Twelve, representative of the twelve tribes of the “New Israel”. Like most of his fellow guardians of the truth, Matthias would be martyred for his courage in proclaiming Christ crucified. And the Gospel today gives us the principle message they took to the world, the message of love and mutual fidelity. Ironic what a threat that commandment is to those who love the world but detest the light..
Pax
[1] The icon today is of St. Matthias, artist UNKNOWN
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
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