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We believe the Holy Spirit fulfills the promise of Jesus in the successors of the Apostles.
The Successors of the Apostles
We really don’t know much about St. Matthias, who we celebrate today. Most of what we know is gathered from histories that were written after his death. But what is recounted for us in the Acts of the Apostles provides an outline for what it means for the Church today and for us as individuals. So they needed someone to replace Judas, Judas Iscariot.
And it’s interesting, firstly, to watch how this choice was being made. First of all, the Apostles are grounded in Scripture. In the decision to choose someone, Peter quotes the Psalms. They would have lived steeped in the Scriptures that we call the Old Testament. They would have known in so many ways how to view the world because of the ways in which they were familiar with the Scriptures.
Moreover, they saw the world as not something where they alone then decided what to do, but rather looked to God, who was the author of salvation history. Peter could have just said, “I’m going to choose Matthias to be the one to replace Judas Iscariot,” but he did not. The Apostles, the twelve, could have gathered together, or at least now the eleven, and made a choice, but they did not.
They looked to God for the inspiration as to who should replace Judas. And I think this is recounted for us to help us to understand the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ promise that he would always be with his church. As we encounter various questions and things that need to be discerned, we can never lose sight of looking to Jesus and looking to the Holy Spirit to make the decision, to help us to see what it is that God wills for you and for me.
There were also some characteristics for an Apostle. This Apostle had to be someone who was with Jesus from the very beginning, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. This had to be someone who was a witness to the resurrection. That is, in fact, what makes an Apostle. It’s why Paul, Saint Paul, claimed to be an Apostle, because he too witnessed the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.
We are called to stand in the love of Jesus. And just as the Apostles looked to the Lord for guidance, direction, and purpose, so too must we look to the Lord. And we must take up the challenge of preaching the resurrection, of letting people know that in spite of all appearances, the Lord Jesus has conquered death. As we heard yesterday, “Don’t be troubled, because I have overcome the world. I have conquered the world.”
That’s the victory of Jesus that we celebrate during this Easter season. This Sunday, we will celebrate Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which changed the Apostles from timid, frightened men who hid in an upper room to the great proclaimers of the Lord Jesus himself, even at the cost of their own lives. Let us ask the Lord to send the Holy Spirit into our hearts, to give us the virtue of fortitude or courage, so that in all situations we might be willing to share the good news that Jesus has overcome death and is risen from the dead.
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