7 Easter/Ascension Year B May 13, 2018
Luther Memorial Church Seattle, WA
The Rev. Julie Hutson
Acts 1: 15-17, 21-26 + Psalm 1 + Ephesians 1: 15-23
Luke 24: 44-53
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Did any of you watch Jesus Christ Superstar Live on television this past Easter Sunday? This live re-make of one of my favorite musicals was the perfect way to end Easter Sunday. But I am forever reminded of seeing this production live on stage in the eighties, you know back when I was twelve (HA!) I was in Nashville and the part of Mary Magdalene was being played for the evening by country music star Tanya Tucker. Oh dear. But worse yet was the exchange I witnessed between the young couple seated in front of me. When Mary Magdalene sang her tearful, angst ridden “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” the young man leaned over to his date and said “I’ve always thought this part was weird. How come Jesus’ mother doesn’t know how to love him?” {Groan}
One of my favorite lines in Jesus Christ Superstar comes from the song “The Last Supper.” In this song, the disciples sing this verse: “Always hoped that I’d be an apostle. Knew that I could make it if I tried. Then we when retire we can write the gospels so they’ll still talk about us when we die.”
That scene is set in the context of the last supper, on the night before Jesus’ death. On a night when Judas betrayed him with a kiss there in the garden.
Our first reading, from Acts, this morning fast forwards us to another gathering of the believers. This reading happens post Resurrection. Jesus is already gone…ascended. Peter gathers with the believers, about 120 of them. The size of an Easter congregation here in this place. And they’ve gathered for a specific reason….to undertake a task of some importance. They’ve gathered to choose the successor to Judas. To fill the position of twelfth man. They knew the criteria…clearly male because, patriarchy. Someone who had been with them during all the time that Jesus went in and out among us, beginning there in the Jordan River when he was baptized by John and ending at the Ascension. The task to which this disciple would be called sounded deceptively simple: to witness to the resurrection of Jesus.
I can’t think of a single selection process, or call process, associated with the Church that is simple. When a congregation calls a pastor there are months of discernment and preparation, reams of paperwork, interviews, meet and greets, before a decision is made. When we elect a bishop there’s a whole meet and greet tour and speeches and questions and multiple ballots. (By the way, did you know, that for the first time in its history the ELCA elected women of color as synodical bishops, not once but twice last weekend?)
How then, would a disciple of Jesus be selected? By casting lots….or more specifically….rolling the dice. On one side there was Justus and on the other Matthias. A prayer and a roll of the dice and just like that…Matthias is the second twelfth man in history.
This week as I was thinking about this story, I thought a lot about Justus and Matthias. What were they thinking there with Peter and the others, as this process was taking place? After all, Jesus was gone…not coming back….did they really want to be an apostle? Did they have a choice? Was there a formal job description, because after all “must become a witness with us to his resurrection” seems pretty sparse. Did they stand side by side, each secretly praying that the other would win? The cover art on your bulletin, which is unattributable, shows Matthais, there in the middle; he’s presumably being congratulated by the community, a person who was in charge, and a smiling Justus. The work was about to begin. Judas set the bar pretty low after all, so get out there and knock ‘em, well….alive….Matthias.
And the reality is, we’ll never know whether he lived up to the job description or his potential or not. Because this is the last time Matthias is mentioned in Scripture. Or Justus for that matter. We hear nothing else about them. Extra biblical tradition says that they were both martyred later in life after becoming bishops. But if either of them had big hopes and dreams about making it as an apostle, or maybe even writing a gospel, they were evidently not achieved in their lifetimes.
Except….except here we are….thousands of years later…..talking about them. Searching for what we can learn from them in our own journeys as witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus.
For the entirety of its existence the Church has used the only models it has at hand, imperfect though they may be, to choose its leaders. Frankly, I’m not entirely certain that’s been such a bad thing. The leadership of the Church, whether it’s the apostles leading the very first followers of Jesus or whether it’s the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA or our synodical bishop or this pastor….we are tasked with certain things. With specific roles, for the sake of good order. And how we choose the leadership, as long as we do it prayerfully and with intention and grace, seems secondary to the real work.
Beloved community, the real work actually belongs to you. You have the call to the most vital ministry the Church possesses: to witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Your task, and to be fair, it is the task of all who follow Jesus….is to tell his story. You know, the one we sang about in the hymn last week: The old, old story of Jesus and his love. But just because it’s an old story doesn’t mean it’s not the best story. When we consider all of the stories of fear and hate and division we hear today, the story that we are tasked to tell….the actual work we are called to do….is to tell a story of love. Love given freely. Love given unconditionally. Love given to all people.
Like Justus, we didn’t miss out on our call. Sure, Matthais was going to take that twelfth man spot, but Justus and all of the rest gathered there that day also had a job to do and also had a story to tell: of the love of the risen Christ. Of the hope that death does not have the final word. Jesus was no longer with them, but his story….his teaching and his message….of inclusion and preference for the poor and oppressed….that story was handed on to his followers, to his disciples, to us….to carry into the world.
Beloved friends, you have a call. It’s not just pastors and deacons and bishops who are called. You, the beloved people of God, are called first in the waters of baptism to this primary and most holy call: Go and witness to the resurrection.
It is a call I share with you; my call as your pastor comes after that. And that call, is such privilege and grace. It is like the best icing on a cake. I join with Paul in giving thanks, as he did for the Ephesians today: From the first time I heard of your faith in Christ Jesua and your love for all of the holy ones, I have never stopped thanking God for you and remembering you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Savior Jesus Christ, the God of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation, to bring you to a rich knowledge of the Creator. I pray that God will enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see the hope this call holds for you…” [1]
Dear Ones, you have been named as beloved of God through the waters of baptism. You have been called by God to share a message of wide welcome for all people, of love that does not end, and of hope that this call holds for you. It is not work we do alone. That is the purpose and the beauty of the community of faith. It is why we worship together. It is why we sing together. It is why we celebrate and mourn and walk together. It is why we go out from this place together.
Rejoice. You are the beloved and called people of God.
Thanks be to God, and let the Church say…Amen.
[1] Ephesians 1: 15-17