HOMILY/SERMON FOR THE FEAST OF ST MATTHIAS THE APOSTLE 14th May 2024

HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF ST. MATTHIAS THE APOSTLE

Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Ps.113; John 15:9-17

God purposefully calls us

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Matthias, one of the apostles of Jesus who though was not initially chosen by Jesus when others were called, was later chosen to replace Judas after the latter had betrayed Jesus and committed suicide. We may need to ask: was it necessary that Judas be replaced? Must the number of the apostles be twelve? Couldn’t the remaining eleven carryout the ministry Christ entrusted to them?

What we find here is the purposefulness of God’s call. God does not call on impulse; he has a well-defined mission for each and every one of us. This was clearly made known to Jeremiah: “before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, and appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer.1:4-5). It is the mission that necessitates our calling. God did not call us and then assigned a mission to us; rather, there is a mission to be fulfilled; He calls us to fulfil it.

Consequently, each of the twelve apostles had a unique assignment that necessitated their call. When Judas fell out, in order that the mission assigned to him may not be neglected, a replacement was necessary. By this, we come to discover how important we all are to God. Jesus says in the gospel reading: “no longer do I call you servants…but I have called you friends…You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruits and that your fruit should abide”.

We are important to God but not indispensable. Therefore, to partake in God’s mission is a privilege not a favour done to God. I am privileged to be called by God to serve Him as a Christian/Priest; I am not doing God a favour by being a Christian/Priest. This calls for a sense of appreciation, value and humility.

Since everyone has been purposefully called by God, there is no need for jealousy. Jealousy is a clear indication that one is ignorant of the purpose of his/her call and is not busy fulfilling it. A jealous person is a distracted person and a distracted person does not bear good fruits.

It was important that the person who will replace Judas must have been with Jesus and the other apostles all through Jesus’ life time, and must have also witness to the resurrection. These criteria were to ensure that the person has a first-hand encounter with Jesus. Without a first-hand encounter with Jesus, our message will be distorted and unable to save. A messenger must not be a servant but a friend of Jesus to whom he has revealed all things. Today, the Holy Spirit helps us to have this first-hand encounter with Jesus. Therefore, we need to always pray for the out-pouring and the renewal of the Spirit within us.

That explains how a prayerful Christian is a powerful Christian; invariably, a prayer-less Christian is a weak Christian. A weak Christian will eventually fall off and be replaced like Judas.