The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the path whereby we have come to know our mission to love one another in accord with Jesus' instructions to the “his friends”.
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| A corner on our path |
The reading from the Book of Acts describes the action of the Holy Spirit in the choice of Judas’s successor.
* [1:26] The need to replace Judas was probably dictated by the symbolism of the number twelve, recalling the twelve tribes of Israel. This symbolism also indicates that for Luke (see Lk 22:30) the Christian church is a reconstituted Israel.1
Psalm 113 is a hymn exhorting the congregation to praise God’s name.
* [Psalm 113] A hymn exhorting the congregation to praise God’s name, i.e., the way in which God is present in the world; the name is mentioned three times in Ps 113:1–3. The divine name is especially honored in the Temple (Ps 113:1) but its recognition is not limited by time (Ps 113:2) and space (Ps 113:3), for God is everywhere active (Ps 113:4–5) especially in rescuing the lowly faithful (Ps 113:7–9).2
The Gospel of John reveals Jesus’ command to “Love one another”.
* [15:13] For one’s friends: or: “those whom one loves.” In Jn 15:9–13a, the words for love are related to the Greek agapaō. In Jn 15:13b–15, the words for love are related to the Greek phileō. For John, the two roots seem synonymous and mean “to love”; cf. also Jn 21:15–17. The word philos is used here.3
Dennis Hamm, S.J. comments that the New Testament tells no more about Matthias, but there is no doubt that, as one who had been following Jesus from the beginning, his sense of himself and his purpose matched that address of Jesus in today’s gospel: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.” Jesus is addressing not just the original Twelve but all disciples, which includes you and me. The mission is simple: bear fruit! And the means: Love one another and continue the mission! In the midst of our global experience of the COVID-19 virus, Dennis Hamm, S.J. is moved to prayer.
Gracious God, in this Fifth week of Easter season, our thoughts continue to apply the Scriptures to our mission of following our Risen Lord in our own day. And now as we celebrate the feast of Saint Matthias, we are given the special readings of the feast. At this moment, when we are thrown off balance by the current pandemic, we have new reasons to cry out for help. Just when we are already disturbed by various kinds of political unrest and even divisions within our Church, along comes this unexpected challenge of the coronavirus. Lord, give us the gift of solidarity with all the victims of this disease. And just as Matthias was surprised by the call of Peter and the first 12 members of the church, yet found himself readied by your Holy Spirit, give us the generosity and courage to respond to his fresh call to follow your Son in the new ways you call us to live the apostolic mission of your renewed People. Teach us to imitate Jesus’ profound trust in you, incarnate as he was in our kind of flesh. Help us bear fruit by dying to sin and the fear of death and by leaning on the power and promise of his resurrection.4
Don Schwager quotes “Love your enemy and make a friend,” by Gregory the Great, 540-604 A.D.
"The unique, the highest proof of love is this, to love the person who is against us. This is why Truth himself bore the suffering of the cross and yet bestowed his love on his persecutors, saying, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:34). Why should we wonder that his living disciples loved their enemies, when their dying master loved his? He expressed the depth of his love when he said, 'No one has greater love that this, than that he lay down his life for his friends' (John 15:13).' The Lord had come to die even for his enemies, and yet he said he would lay down his life for his friends to show us that when we are able to win over our enemies by loving them, even our persecutors are our friends." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 27)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 comments that Matthias was chosen to replace Judas, but what about the others? We will never know all their names, but we do know that they found Jesus so compelling that they left their homes, families, and jobs to be with him. It’s possible they never knew where they would be going next or where their next meal would come from. After Jesus’ resurrection, they were probably among those who formed the first Christian community, sharing all they had with one another (Acts 2:42-47).
These anonymous believers were the first in a long line of hidden saints. Imagine the millions of people over the centuries whose names we will never know who have followed in their footsteps. Think especially of those who have given up homes, families, and careers to follow the Lord. They labored in God’s vineyard and brought other people to faith; some even sacrificed their lives for Jesus.
As we honor St. Matthias today, let’s honor these men and women as well. Matthias would not have been an apostle if the lot hadn’t fallen to him (Acts 1:26). But like these others, he would have still been a saint—someone who experienced the love of God, became his disciple, and did whatever God called him to do.6
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the role of the Spirit in “chance” selection and the tradition of Hebrew high priests in advising rulers of Israel. Laying down our will and ego is a path to love one another. Friar Jude reminds us that all people are children of God.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments author and Episcopal priest Mary Earle explores the difficult questions that beset individuals during the time of Julian of Norwich as well as our own. Julian’s radical insistence that we know there is “no anger in God” [2] directs us all to look at ways in which we project our own bitterness, anger, and vengeance upon God. In a resolutely maternal way, she encourages us to grow up, to cast aside our immature and punitive images of God, and to be honest with ourselves about our own actions that have their roots in spiritual blindness.
Julian tells us, again and again, in a variety of ways, that God is our friend, our mother and our father, as close to us as the clothing we wear. She employs homely imagery and language, the vocabulary of domesticity, to tell us her experience. At the same time, she demonstrates a degree of sophisticated theological language. Julian is firm and steady on these points:
God is One.Everything is in God.God is in everything.God transcends and encloses all that is made.7
Fr. Richard shares the only point he would add to that list is that she really believes that God is Love. He is thankful that in Franciscan tradition, John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308) taught us an “alternative orthodoxy” that we often call “at-one-ment.” (Read Chapter 12 of his book The Universal Christ for a greater explanation of the topic.). Our path in our life in Christ has brought us to practice love of one another.
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