Coming as it does in the last week of the Easter Season, this year's observance of the Feast of St. Matthias highlights the actions of the Holy Spirit in the deliberations of the Apostles in choosing him to take the place of Judas in their midst. As they did in every situation, the Eleven left the choice up to God.
I have often wondered at this particular event from the Acts of the Apostles. Luke records that the event took place while the disciples were gathered together, that there were about 120 present at the meeting. The action is recorded as having taken place sometime between the Ascension (Acts 1) and the descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). Of course, we cannot take this literally since the sequence of events in the Acts of the Apostles differs from the way the evangelists speak of the events of the Paschal Mystery in the Gospels.
However, we might be able to say that this is the first instance of "discernment" of God's will, a process that continues to occupy a place of importance in the life of the Church.
Discernment comes down to a very simple yet daunting exercise. Can I choose what God wants rather than what I want? In other words, it requires that I set aside my own agenda, not an easy task. Yet it can be accomplished if we approach the decision in prayer and in humility, remembering that God is in charge. I am not sure how Joseph, called Barsabbas, must have felt. However, he has always stood for me as someone who willingly faded into the background because his faith told him that he was called to follow rather than to lead. So while the Church remembers St. Matthias today, it does so in the context of another saintly man who, I am sure, went on to bring the Good News to others through the example of his life.
In Christian tradition, both of these men went on to become part of the Church’s effort to preach the Good News of Jesus. St. Matthias planted the faith in Cappadocia and on the coasts of the Caspian Sea, residing chiefly near the port Issus. There is no certainty about how he died. He may have been martyred, but others write that he died of old age in Hieropolis. Barsabbas went on to become Bishop of Eleutheropolis, where he died a martyr and is venerated as Saint Justus of Eleutheropolis.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator