The Lot Fell on Matthias

The Rev. Whitworth Ferguson III
Manassas Presbyterian Church
Manassas, Virginia
May 3, 2009

The Lot Fell on Matthias
Acts 1:12-26

The lot fell on Matthias.
This sounds so ominous, doesn’t it?
“The lot falls to you Mathias” --
It sounds like he drew the short straw.

This is one of those stories in the Bible
that we know is there,
but which we don’t pay much attention to.
Once we start Acts, we’re eager to get to chapter 2,
with the wonderful story of the first Pentecost,
when the Holy Spirit first came upon the apostles
like tongues of fire.

But here we are, twelve verses into Luke’s second book,
his follow up to his Gospel.
Luke tells us that Jesus was with his apostles for 40 days
following the resurrection;
forty days to help them understand
“by many convincing proofs”
that he was alive, real,
that the tomb could not hold him,
that death could not bind him.

Then at the end of the 40 days,
Luke tells us Jesus was lifted up,
lifted up to heaven.
But before he ascended to heaven,
before he was lifted up,
he provided his apostles with some reassurance:
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses…
to the ends of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8)

With that the disciples went back
to the room in Jerusalem where they were staying.
Was it the same room where they had hidden themselves
six weeks earlier following Jesus’ crucifixion,
or was it a different room? -- we don’t know.

What’s clear, though, is that the fear they had felt
on that first Easter Sunday was gone now.
Even without the power that was to come,
the power of the Holy Spirit,
they were finding themselves
ready to carry on with their ministry,
the ministry Jesus called them to.

For the first time their thoughts were on the future,
on the work they were called to do,
the work their Lord expected them to do:
to witness,
to witness to the resurrection
and proclaim the good news, the gospel,
of Jesus Christ,
a gospel of “repentance and forgiveness of sins
… to all nations.”
“to the very ends of the earth.”
(Luke 24:47)

But even before they could get to work
Peter reminded them they had to fill a gap:
add an apostle to replace Judas,
to bring the number back to 12.
The names of two men were put before the group:
Justus and Matthias,
and the group then prayed that God would reveal
God’s choice,
of which one would
“take the place in this ministry and apostleship”.

As was the practice back then,
they cast lots to discern God’s response.
If that sounds rather like tossing dice
you would not be far wrong.
Those of you who have been participating
in the Year of the Bible
may recall how the garments worn by the priests
back in Moses’ and Joshua’s day
were described in exacting detail,
right down to two special pockets on the ephod,
the outer garment,
designed to hold the Urim and the Thummin,
the sacred rocks the priest would cast
to learn of God’s will.

It sounds a little glib to our 21st century ears,
as though they prayed and then to discern God’s answer,
they turned to their version of a “Magic 8-Ball”,
hoping, of course, that the response would not be
“Outlook Cloudy”, or “Ask again later.”

The word was clear, though: Matthias was the one,
the one God wanted to bring the group back to 12:
the Scriptural 12,
reflecting the 12 Tribes of Israel,
the 12 Patriarchs.

Matthias was chosen,
and the lot fell to him.
He became the 12th apostle -
the one to replace Judas.
And no sooner was Matthias named an apostle,
than that was that for Matthias.
We never hear another word about him,
or from him.
The curtain drops, the door shuts,
locked, click. Done.

Who was Matthias?
A fisherman like Peter, Andrew, James or John?
A tax collector like Matthew?
A carpenter like our Lord?
Was he barely out of his teens,
or a man with thinning hair flecked with gray?
Was he a team player,
or was his ego going to put him in competition
with others for which one would be the greatest?

Was he a steady man, temperate, even,
or was he temperamental, quick to anger,
zealous in his opinion?
Was he articulate,
or was he easily confounded and confused?
Was he a man ready to lead, or
did he always have his head down
eyes cast away,
hoping someone else would take charge?

We do not know the answers to any of these questions.
We know nothing about Matthias.
There were stories about him that came out decades later,
but there’s probably no truth to any of them:
One had Matthias taking the gospel
to Ethiopia and dying there in service to God.
Another had him staying in Jerusalem.
Still another story hinted that
Matthias was in fact Zacchaeus,
the corrupt chief tax collector.

What we know for sure about Matthias is this:
he was just like you and me:
For he was called by God, called by Christ,
the lot fell on him in the same way the lot falls on each of us,
the lot that calls us to service, to witness,
to proclaim, yes, even to evangelize,
which is nothing more than sharing the good news
of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The lot falls to all of us
to proclaim,
not convert – that’s God’s job;
but proclaim – proclaim the good news
and why would we hold back on good news!?
The lot falls of each of us to do that
in every part of our lives
every day of our lives.

As you come to this table in a few minutes,
I invite you to think about how you witness
to the gospel of Jesus Christ:
what do you do,
how are you fulfilling your call to apostleship?

I invite you to think about one new thing you can do,
something new, something that will move you to a new level
of apostleship, discipleship.

Perhaps it’s something here in the community of this church,
or in this community of Manassas
through SERVE, or Habitat,
or a new service.
Perhaps it’s participating in a new form of
caring for God’s creation
as a group from our church did so enthusiastically last week.

The advantage we have is that we already
have the power of the Holy Spirit
to grace us with conviction, courage,
ability, and hope:
we don’t have to wait another 4 weeks
until we mark Pentecost.

So come to this table
because the lot has fallen on you:
the lot of being called to discipleship
following our risen Lord Jesus Christ.

And then go, as all apostles have for 2,000 years:
Go out living the good news,
and proclaiming it,
proclaiming it to all the nations,
proclaiming it to the ends of the earth.
For that is the word of the Lord.
AMEN