**SERMON** St. Matthias
“I pick Barkley!”
Have you seen that commercial? A group of children are on the playground. They are selecting their teams for a game of pickup Basketball. One of the team captains, a young girl, girls out, “I pick Barkley!” Next thing we see is famous bball player Charles Barkley going, “YES!”
Capital One’s ad may call up negative memories for us. Perhaps we were the last to be chosen for a team during PE class. Maybe we were never chosen for a neighborhood game of dodgeball. Deep down, we all want to be pick. We all have a deep-rooted need to belong, to be included. We see that it is no different in the early church.
You see, Jesus’ mission must go on. Jesus’ ministry of showing God’s radical love for all must continue. As Jesus ascends into Heaven, Jesus leaves it in the hands of His followers. Now it is up to them to make sure the Good News continues to be spread far and wide. And Jesus promises that His Spirit will be with them and in them, strengthening and sustaining them for their ministry.
So a new leader is lifted up to share in the mission. You may remember that Judas is no longer with the inner circle of Jesus’ friends. Judas took his own life in remorse after betraying Jesus. Twelve has now become eleven. So, in the days between Jesus’ Ascension and the day of Pentecost, Matthias is chosen to take the place left by Judas.
Peter tells the other disciples, now called apostles, that finding a new leader to join them fulfils Psalm 109:8. Two likely candidates are selected based upon an important criterion. A new apostle must have been with them for the last three years, following Jesus with them from Jesus’ Baptism through Jesus’ Resurrection.
Both Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias met this criterion. I John tells us why this matters. John reminds us that we can only share from our own experience. You and I can only share what we have seen or heard. Anything else falls short and weakens our witness. That is called hearsay in a court of law and is inadmissible. And, sharing the Good News effectively, is the first duty of Jesus’ followers.
Matthias is chosen by lot after prayerful consideration. Matthias now joins the eleven and takes Judas’ place among the Christian community. Scholars make much of the fact that we never hear of Matthias again. He vanishes from the pages of Scripture and church history after this brief mention.
Some say the lack of additional mentions of Matthias, or even Justus, is proof that he was a failure. Other scholars wonder if Matthias was only needed until Pentecost to keep the number at 12. I am not so sure about either theory. I believe that the absence of evidence is not enough to make a case either way.
I also believe that the Bible is full of God working through seemingly insignificant people.
David is written off by his family as the youngest, the runt. Yet, when God seeks a new king for Israel, God choses David. That shepherd boy is still remembered as Israel’s greatest king and ancestor of Jesus.
Leah is the other wife, the unloved wife Jacob. God looks favorably on Leah. And so it is that Leah, and not her sister Rachel, gives birth to Judah. Many, many generations later, Jesus is born as a descendant of the tribe of Judah.
Jesus Himself was sometimes overlooked. People dismissed Him as a backwater hick, the mere son of a carpenter. Christians around the world see Jesus as the One who brings us new and unending life with God.
Maybe others have written you off. Maybe you even dismiss yourself as insignificant. Take heart in Jesus’ prayer for His followers, including you and me. We are God’s. God has chosen us. God picks us as beloved daughters and sons. There are so many out there who need to hear that message. Then, as now, it is up to you and to me to make sure that message continues to be proclaimed.