¹⁵ During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them. ¹⁶ “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. ¹⁷ Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”

¹⁸ (Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines. ¹⁹ The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

²⁰ Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

²¹ “So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus— ²² from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen ²⁵ as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.

Acts 1:15-26

Dear God, I noticed that, in the Catholic church, it is the feast day for Matthias. I really wish we knew more about him or how the rest of his life turned out. All I can find is that he preached the Gospel and was crucified. So he is to be respected. He is certainly to be respected.

My issue with this story is that I still think Peter was forcing something that didn’t need to be forced. He was tired of waiting for what was next so, in my opinion, he decided for himself what was next: Let’s replace Judas.

To set the stage, they had returned from the ascension, during which time we have no one recording Jesus telling them to replace Judas. And Jesus obviously didn’t do it while he was with them for the 40 days. But now they were sitting around the house waiting, and, again, this is what I think, Peter got restless and wanted to take some action. And after the lot fell on Matthias, I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if they gave him some sort of oath. Did they give him a special vote among the other 11? Did they lay their hands on him and pray over him? I know he was there later when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. But what else happened that changed anything for Matthias or for the 12?

Oh, how there is a lesson here for me. Don’t get restless. Don’t force things. Don’t get impatient with your timing. None of them knew that the one of the guys all of them were afraid of, Saul of Tarsus, would really (in my opinion) be Judas’s replacement, as literally selected by Jesus. How could they? He wanted to imprison and kill them. How could they possibly have known?

And there is so, so much that I do not know. Even today. I am coming to the end of what I call “fundraising season” at work. Every day, I have had fundraising things to work on. It’s normally been a good time of year for me to take a vacation. And as I go to work today, will I look for things to do, or will I wait on you, pray that you guide me, and just worship you through my being and take you everywhere I go?

Father, I want to be your…well, I just want to be yours. I want to lead with worship of you. I want to move through my day as someone who is completely submitted to you. I want to love others. I want to offer them your true Gospel: the reconciliation between you and us through Jesus. I want to be a source of helping people heal. I want to know what is possible in the world that I cannot see. Well, that isn’t true. I’m okay with not knowing that the Sauls of the world can become Pauls. But I do want to be open to what is possible. I want to be open to praying for angels to watch over people. I want to be open to the idea of praying for radical healings. I want to be open to whatever path you have for me to walk. All for your glory, oh Lord. All for your glory.

I offer this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen