Seventh Sunday of Easter

Are You Like Matthias?

Acts 1:21-26

May 19/20, 2007

Today we have read the story of Matthias.  Now having heard the story, what do we do with it.  Now some time ago I had  To take a personality profile.  One of the things it identified was that I put myself into stories like this.  It was right, I often do.  Who would you be in this story?  Are you like Matthias? Truthfully we have to answer no and yes.

 First no, Matthias has a very unique role.  It is important for us to understand, why Matthias chosen. Not why Matthias, but why was he chosen to fill the role of an  Apostle. You may say they needed to replace Judas, but why.

They needed a twelfth apostle, but why twelve.  Some say twelve is the perfect number for a small group and that is how the church is to be and some say even numbers so they could work in pairs.  And it is neither of these. No this is not the first time twelve appears in the Bible. Twelve has happened before.  For where there is a twelve there is an Israel. There is a people of God.  That is the need for twelve apostles, show by their number that the church is the people of God.

 Then, personally, Matthias was to become a witness to Jesus resurrection. For Matthias and the other apostles, it was to be eyewitness testimony to Jesus resurrection.  The Lord had appeared to them and they were to testify to what they saw.

 As the people of God, the church is to testify to the resurrection of Jesus.  The church is to proclaim the truth of Jesus rising from the dead.  Their message is the fact that the tomb was empty, and that Jesus walked among them showing himself alive.  The church is also to testify to the meaning of the resurrection.

St. Paul tells us that Jesus resurrection is the ultimate in evidence for the truth of his message.  All that Jesus said was true.  Jesus identity is shown by the fact of his resurrection.  Who Jesus is and what he did, all comes together at the resurrection.  The empty tomb proclaims his work, complete and accepted by God.  To be a witness to the resurrection, therefore is also to be a witness to all the Jesus taught and did.

 In this way we are like Matthias.  As members of Christ’s Church, we are to be witnesses is, to his work and to his teachings.  Like Matthias and the other 11 we are to be witnesses in two ways.  First, they were to be verbal witnesses.  They were to tell people what Jesus had said and done, testifying to the truth of what they had seen.  For they had seen Jesus baptized and seen his miracles seen him crucified and seen him risen from the dead.  These 12 men had been there through Jesus whole ministry.  They were to testify to all with his resurrection from the dead as their ultimate proof.

 From them the message was to spread to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.  Their testimony spread the gospel through out the world and through time, to us. 

 Now we have the gospel with all its blessings and with the task to share it.  We are to be witnesses to our world, witnessing to all that God has done; from creating this world by calling it into existence, to his mercy on us after our sinful rebellion, to his gracious redemption granted by the work of his son Jesus.

With God's holy Word, the Bible, and with his sacraments holy baptism and holy Communion, we share God's blessed gift of salvation.  We are here to be his witnesses to all around us.

 That is to be verbal testimony, speaking God's message of law and gospel to those around us and it is to be a living testimony.  Here the purpose of the people of God, is to us from ancient Israel like that nation we are to be living witnesses our lives are to show the world the difference Jesus resurrection makes.

 Being the people of God, being Christians, should make a difference in the way we live our lives.  Ancient Israel was to witness to the nations around them, by their life according to the law.  We are to witness to the world as we live God's way and keep Him, His Word and His Church top priority in our life.  The difference is also shown by the way we treat one another and in the way we act toward those around us.

 Here we too look to the Ten Commandments.  Not just to the “thou shalt’s” and the “thou shalt not’s” but to the explanations, where we learn the things to do to live together God’s way. There we learn that our living witness includes helping and supporting our neighbors in every physical need, protecting our neighbors processions and reputation and maybe the most important of all, saying everything in the kindest way. With these we show the life made possible by Jesus work as He restored us to a right relationship with God. We witness to the world by extending his love and grace to one another and to all around us.

 So you see in a very real way, you are like Matthias.  You have been called to be a witness, a witness to Christ's resurrection.  As part of the people of God, you are to witness to the truth of the resurrection in word and in deed. With our words, we are to spread the gospel and to show and to share the difference that makes in our life.  We are  to act differently from the world.  We are to act God's way.  As life in ancient Israel was to be different, and life among the apostles was to be different, so our life is to be different from the world, different so as to show that Jesus has made a difference in us.

 God has called us to extend his call.  He has blessed us to be a blessing.  He has made us his witnesses, to Munster, to Lake County, to Gary and to the ends of the earth.  May the Lord go with us, guide and bless our words and our works and give us peace.  Amen.

 Now may the peace that passes all understanding.  Keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto a life everlasting.  Amen

SDG