Faithful and Good [Easter 7B - Acts 1:15-17, 21-26]

 The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

 

Faithful and Good

St. Paul’s, Albany

 

Everything changed with the cast of a lot.  It was such a small thing that made such a big difference.  And it could have gone either way – there were two qualified candidates – but the lot fell on Matthias.

 

And so, when the lot settled, Matthias became the twelfth disciple, the replacement, the one who restored their number.  Filling the Judas-sized hole is a short story in the book of Acts, but it was a big deal – certainly in the history of our faith.  It was one of the very first tasks of the Easter Church; in the ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost the followers of Jesus prayed and filled out the depth chart.  That’s it; that’s the list.

 

Peter cared deeply about this task.  Everyone remembers Peter’s stunning speech on the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter two, but his first sermon is what we read from Acts today.  This was the starting point; he banged the table for this moment.  It is an impassioned call to administrative work. 

 

We can, and often do, romanticize the ministry of the early Church.  It is certainly easy to do.  There are tongues of flame and bursts of language; there are healings and baptisms and more Holy Spirit than anyone ever expects.  But also, there is an awful lot of organization.  The Church leaders are making appointments and assignments.  They are recruiting volunteers.  They are holding committee meetings.  Don’t let anyone tell you that the Episcopal Church is not an Acts church; we do all of those things – and often.

 

Before Pentecost, before three thousand persons were baptized into the company of believers, the disciples carefully and intentionally laid the foundation.  Before they could grow, they needed to pray and prepare.  Not as flashy, but important.

 

I was ordained and consecrated as your bishop on the Feast of St. Matthias. (You might remember that day.)  And so Matthias, and his feast day, have become very important to me, very special.  But even before we were linked, I have always been fascinated by St. Matthias – mostly because he is never mentioned in the Bible again.  This is it.  This is his biblical story.

 

As with all the saints of old, later Christians wrote fantastic accounts of what we might consider possible holy exploits.  But most of the stories are likely pious fan-fiction.  I suspect the tales of Matthias’ adventures in Cannibal City, for example, are products of holy imagination – inspiring, no doubt, but likely not grounded in history.

 

We actually know almost nothing about St. Matthias.  What we know, we find in the few verses we heard this morning.  What we know from this passage in Acts is that he was faithful and good.  That’s not much but also that is a lot. 

 

Remarkably, though never mentioned in the Gospels, we are told that Matthias stayed with Jesus when so many others left.  Acts records that Matthias was there from the Baptism of John until the day of Ascension.  Not many people stuck that out.  Not many were that faithful.  In fact, only two, outside of the eleven, were qualified when it came time to cast the lots.

 

Faithfulness got Matthias into the finals.  Goodness is why the lot fell on him.  The prayer of the faithful was simple: “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.”  They were just looking for someone with a good heart.  There were no theological litmus tests, no feats of strength, no essay contest or oral examine.  Matthias was faithful and good.  And that was enough.  Because in a sense that is everything.  It is a way of saying that Matthias embodied the Great Commandment.  He loved God; he loved people.  And so he was the one.   

 

We have no idea how he felt about his nomination and election.  I suspect his feelings were complex.  His predecessor was dead.  His Lord was gone.  His fellows were wanted.  On paper, being number twelve wasn’t the most appealing job.

 

But he took it.  He said yes to this strange and wondrous calling.  And then faded into obscurity. 

 

And that is one of the things I love about Matthias.  He is a behind-the-scenes saint.  And where would the Church be without the behind-the-scenes saints?

 

For every Peter or Paul there are hundreds of Matthiases – good and faithful people who do their work quietly, good and faithful people who plant the seeds of the Kingdom, good and faithful people who lay the foundation for the spread of the Gospel.

 

This church, this parish, is full of people like that – good and faithful people dedicated to the Gospel of Jesus and to the life of this congregation.  Things of late haven’t been easy, but you stick around, you do the work, and you cling to Jesus.  You show up for meetings, order the wine, clean the linens, make the bulletins.  You raise money for those forced into the margins: those in poverty, those experiencing homelessness, those suffering with HIV/AIDS.  You pray together and worship together and sing together and eat together.  You encourage each other and love each other.  It is usually pretty quiet work, often behind-the-scenes, but you put your hearts into it and glorify God through it.    

 

All we really know about Matthias is that he was faithful and good.  And that is a pretty amazing legacy.  It is the kind of legacy the people of St. Paul’s are building.  I’m proud of that.  I’m proud of you.

 

Never shy away from the obscure callings; God often makes a big difference of small things.  God follows on the heels of the faithful and good work of faithful and good people.  After St. Matthias took his seat among the twelve, after the important business of the Church was accomplished, Pentecost happened.  After the planning came the fire.  The quiet work of the Upper Room made the Pentecostal miracle possible.  Your work is simply to be faithful and good; do that – and don’t be surprised when the Holy Spirit shows up with tongues of fire.