Reflections...

Good morning. Here we are on the last Sunday of the Easter season. Traditionally Eastertide lasts 40 days until the Ascension of Jesus. Many churches observed the Ascension on May 9^th, last Thursday, so this gives us one more Sunday today until Pentecost, which is celebrated 50 days after the Resurrection. 

The reading for today from Acts 1 is the story of what happens in this time in between the Ascension and Pentecost.  The disciples are a bigger group now, around 120, including Mary, the mother of Jesus and other women. They have gathered in an Upper Room in Jerusalem, because that’s what Jesus told them to do. Go to Jerusalem and wait. Actually, that’s good advice for any followers of Christ looking for direction: Stay together at the right place at the right time, wait and pray.  

Now, I’m not sure if any one of those 120 disciples knew what was coming next. But Peter, bless him, Peter did understand something the others did not. Before anything else could happen, they needed to deal with some unfinished business. It was what we would call ‘the elephant in the room’ – meaning, a huge problem looking everyone right in the face but no one wants to talk about. And the proverbial elephant in this Upper Room of course was the issue of Judas Iscariot. 

You might wonder why Judas would still be a problem for the community. He had betrayed our Lord, betrayed them all and experienced a tragic, painful death. End of discussion. What else needed to be said or done? Good riddance and God have mercy on his soul. 

But Peter can’t and won’t leave it there. Why? Because Judas’ actions had implicated them all. First, how could one who was handpicked to be in Jesus’ inner circle turn out so badly? Wasn’t Judas there with their Lord from the beginning, heard his teachings, saw his miracles, was sent out to preach and heal? Wasn’t he among those who helped feed the 5000 and gather the abundance left over and at table with him at the Last Supper? Yet still, in the end, Judas would hand over his Master to the religious authorities for a mere thirty pieces of silver. 

Peter himself doesn’t try to explain how this happened, except to say that Judas had every chance the other 11 had, and he made his choice. He chose his destiny and yes, even his damnation. There have been modern attempts to be more sympathetic to Judas, to look for some other motive for what he did other than pure greed. Some even speculate that if Judas had stayed around long enough to witness the resurrected Lord, he too might have been forgiven. Maybe he would have been reinstated like Peter, who had denied Jesus three times. Who knows?

We could speculate all the way to making Judas a saint, but that’s not the story we have in the Bible. The story we have is the story of God’s divine plan. God’s divine plan not just to save His chosen, but through His chosen to save the world. God’s divine plan that not even the worst acts of human evil could stop, even if it takes a traitor and a Crucifixion to bring it to fulfillment. And that’s exactly what happened. The one apostle said Yes to Satan, but the one Savior said Yes to God.

In that light, then, Judas’ actions were no longer an issue for the community according to Peter. But his absence, however, was. There were now only 11 apostles left representing the faithful remnant of the 12 original tribes of Israel. That empty slot had to be filled. But how?

There were no alternate apostles on standby. Jesus was no longer there to tell them who to pick. So again, Peter, blessed Peter, leads the community forward. The 13^th apostle needs to have been an eyewitness to Jesus’ baptism all the way to His resurrection. And not just a follower watching from a safe distance but a disciple who was hands on by their side from start to finish. 

Two candidates are brought forward – Joseph or Barsabbas also known as Justus, and Matthias. For me, it would have been a lot easier if only one name had been put forward, all in favor, say “Aye”. But that’s not what happened. There are two names and only one will be chosen. But it won’t be decided by secret ballot. It’s decided by a practice called casting lots. Casting lots involved writing the two names on stones, putting the stones in a container, and shaking it till one of the names falls out. And that’s your winner!

This may all seem a bit random or superstitious like flipping a coin or drawing straws. But rest assured, casting lots was an ancient respected way of determining God’s will. There are examples in the Old Testament and even early in the New Testament. 

Back in Luke 1, we are told priests in the Temple were chosen by casting lots. That’s how Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist) was given the honor to enter the Temple to burn incense before the Lord. And that’s how Matthias was chosen in Acts 1 and given the honor of completing the original apostolic circle. 

I heard of one minister who wanted to give his congregation a taste of what such an election by God must have been like. It was a small congregation. So before the service, he took all the bulletins and numbered them at the back page corner. When it was time for the sermon, he announced they would have their own version of casting lots right then and there. Everyone, he said, look at the back of your bulletin. There’s a number there, and we’re going to have a lucky draw. Two prizes will be awarded. The minister takes out a paper bag with all the numbers inside, shake shake shake, like McDonald’s fries. Starting with 1^st runner up, the Council Chair draws out one number. Stand up. Congratulations! You get a beautiful bookmark from the Holy Land. Applause. The congregation is now on the edge of their seats. Shake, shake, shake. Another number is chosen for 1^st place. Stand up. Congratulations! You get to preach next week’s sermon! Everyone bursts out laughing of course. 

Now don’t worry, there are no numbers on the back of your bulletin. But that story and today’s Scripture do bring home an important truth: Choosing leaders for the body of Christ is serious business. It’s a great honor of course, to be chosen by God and by God’s people to be spiritual leaders and decision-makers for the community. But, it’s also a huge responsibility, even a burden at times as some of you well know. If you didn’t have enough grey hair before you start, expect to have more by the time you finish! 

Most churches no longer cast lots to choose their leaders, though a few do to this day such as some Mennonite and Orthodox Christian bodies. And I admit my honest thought when I heard this was how old fashioned and undemocratic. But then I read remarks by American theologian Stanley Hauerwas in an interview on leadership. And he said, he doesn’t ask why Christians would still choose to resort to such methods to discern God’s will. He pondered instead what kind of community would you need to be that could choose your leaders by lot. Maybe something like the one in the Upper Room on the eve of Pentecost? That group of 120 who were…

1)    Resurrected by the Risen Christ.

2)    United in prayer, fellowship and service and 

3)    Respectful and trusting of each other and God’s chosen leaders.

Wow. Wouldn’t we all love to be part of a community like that? And you know what, actually, we can and we must. Because everything God made available to Christians in the 1^stcentury, God still makes available to us in the 21^st century. Namely, the power of resurrection, a new family in Christ, and the call to be peacemakers. So, whether we cast lots or cast votes, remember: we can never separate leadership from the character of the community that makes it possible. 

That said, if we read the rest of Acts and the letters of Paul, we know it wasn’t always smooth sailing from hereon to eternity.  In fact, the New Testament church seemed to have experienced every kind of crisis and conflict imaginable. And the hardest, most painful times more often happened inside the church, than outside. Sound familiar?

Yet, despite the church’s failures and let’s admit it, our sins – despite all this – God’s decision, Christ’s commission, and the Holy Spirit’s provision still stand. Isn’t that amazing? There’s an old Anglican hymn that sums it all up beautifully for me. So let me close with these three verses by Edward Plumptre.

1.     Your hand, O God, has guided your flock from age to age;
your faithfulness is written full clear on every page.
Our forebears knew your goodness, and we their deeds record;
and both to this bear witness: one Church, one Faith, one Lord!

2.     And we, shall we be faithless? Shall hearts fail, hands hang down?
Shall we evade the conflict, and cast away our crown?
Not so; in God’s deep counsels some better thing is stored:
we will maintain, unflinching, one Church, one Faith, one Lord.

3.     Your mercy will not fail us, nor leave your work undone;
with your right hand to help us the victory shall be won.
And then by earth and heaven your name shall be adored;
And this shall be our anthem: one Church, one Faith, one Lord.