Sermon as preached at Lambs and Evington UMC on 5/17/15
Certain years tend to
hold certain memories for me. For example 2015 will be the year I am ordained,
2013 was the year I got married. 2012 was a big year, it was the year that I
proposed to Heather, graduated from seminary, and started my ministry here at Lambs/Evington.
2011 was the year I went to South Africa. But 2010 will always be the year that
I watched Duke win the National Title. Sure Duke has won it all before that
year, and yes they won all again this year, But 2010 was special because I was
there. No I wasn’t actually there in Indianapolis where they won it all, but I
was at the next best place; Cameron Indoor Stadium, watching on the big screen
with thousands of other students around me. When that last shot barely missed
and Duke won, that place erupted. It was so loud that as I hugged my friend
J.D. in celebration, there was no way to differentiate his yelling in my ear
from the screams all around me. As we all filed out of the stadium we headed
for the quad for we knew what was awaiting us. On Duke’s campus there are these
huge benches that are built each year for the sole purpose of burning to
celebrate extraordinary events. It is a smart move by the school to create a
safe, fun way to celebrate as Fire firefighters prepare and watch over the massive
bonfire. It may sound strange, but there is nothing quite like celebrating late
at night with thousands of people around a huge bonfire.
We had witnessed something that some schools and fans
only dream about. As the days passed there was still a buzz, people couldn’t
stop talking about the night. The book store was packed with people buying
National Championship t-shirts (which I have two of) and even a shirt for the
students that read “I was on the Quad” Still to this day the bookstore still
sells tiny little wood blocks that were part of the championship floor for over
$100. People just want to have some memory, some proof, some conservation
starter about the night they saw Duke win the National Championship. In fact
you can probably sense how excited I get talking about this great event that I
got to witness.
It does make me wonder however, why are we so willing to witness
to stories like this, but so rarely witness to the Messiah who rose from the
dead? Because I don’t think I’m alone, I
am sure each and every one of you have a story like mine that you love to
share. The story of your engagement or wedding day, the story of the birth of
your children, the story of the concert that you once went to, or the day you
ran into that famous person on the street. We tell stories about the places
we’ve been, the work that we have done, the fish that we have caught (even if
those stories are a little exaggerated), but still we rarely find ourselves
sharing the story of the savior we follow.
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| Image Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library |
I believe that is at least the state that we find our
disciplines in our scripture for today. Their leader had just ascended into
heaven and they are obviously in the middle of a leadership crisis. They did not have Jesus there to tell them
what to do or how to minister to the world. None of them could fill the shoes
of Jesus, not even Peter who Jesus called the cornerstone on which he would
build the church. It was obvious that there would need to be a restructuring of
sorts; instead of one leader, the 12 disciples would become tasked with
testifying to what they had seen and learned. The only problem is that one of
the disciples is now dead. Judas after betraying Jesus left the disciples and
died, either by hanging himself as we read in Matthew, or through his guts
spilling out as we have here in Acts.
Regardless of the discrepancies one thing is clear, Judas is gone, and
needed to be replaced.
The disciples come up with some strict guidelines of who
was eligible to be the new 12th disciple. The next disciple must
have been there when Jesus was baptized, had to witness the miracles of Jesus,
his death, his resurrection, and yes his ascension. The requirements for the
new disciple were required more than what the existing disciples had to do! But
it was all done so that they would know that the newest disciple would be able
to testify and witness to the glory of Jesus Christ. And so out of about 120
followers gathered there, these requirements left two people, Mathias and a
named Joseph sometimes called Justus. Finally after it was determined both of
these men were qualified, the disciples prayed about it, and cast lots to
determine the next disciple. The lots fell on Mathias, and that’s how the new
12th disciple was decided
This kind of
reminds me of my journey towards ordination. The Board of Ordained Ministries
requirements are rivaled only by those requirements we have here in Acts. For
Ordination you must go to both Undergraduate and Seminary. You must be
recommend by your home charge, you home district, and then after countless
papers and interviews you are entered into what is called the provisional process.
This is the process you all have so graciously walked with me through. During
this process while you serve full-time, there are more meetings, papers,
surveys and psychological evaluations that you can shake a stick at, until
three years later you are able to write papers once more and sit in front of
the board hopefully your last time. As you are interviewed for 3 hours, your
body shakes, sweat drips off every part of your body and you pray that the
Board recognizes in you the same gifts for ministry that you feel you have. But
the Board of Ordained Ministries’s goal is the same as that of the original
disciples, they want their new leaders to be ones who can effectively witness
to the good news of Jesus Christ.
I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for
Mathias and Joseph on that day. You both have all of the requirements necessary
to step up into this leadership role and so it comes down to either you or him.
But here there is no chance to articulate why you are the better candidate or
why your gifts for ministry would make you a great next disciple; it is all
left up to the casting of lots. A coin
flip, dice roll, rock, paper, scissors; this is in essence how your fate is
decided. It just so happens that day that Mathias was the one the lots fell
upon. Mathias was the newest disciple to witness to the glory of God through
the leadership role as one of the 12.
When you hear this story you almost start to feel a
little bad for Joseph, the man not chosen to be a disciple. He had been with
Jesus since his baptism, he had witnessed Jesus’s miracles firsthand and had
even just recently witnessed the amazing act of Jesus ascending into the clouds
to sit at the right hand of the throne. Joseph was just as qualified as
Mathias, but Mathias gets all of the glory and responsibility of leadership,
while Joseph continues on as just another follower of Christ. In fact Joseph’s
name is never mentioned again in the Bible. It seems unfair, Mathias gets the
glory, and Joseph gets none. But let’s look at Mathias a little closer. He has
just been chosen for this great honor of leadership in the first chapter of
Acts, so how many times do you think we hear about Matthias later on? The
answer is none. Like Joseph, Matthias is never mentioned again,
This passage really makes me reflect upon the roles of
clergy and laity in our churches today.
Matthias is like the clergy who have been called and set apart to be
leaders in the church. They have met all of the requirements of the Church and
are called into this sacred role of ministry, while the laity are like Joseph,
called to continue to serve Christ through their participation in the Church.
But what separates the two men? It is not that Mathias has more privilege or
experience of Jesus than Joseph does, it is simply that Mathias was called into
leadership. Too often in our church today laity act as though they are not
qualified to witness to their faith. We have a pastor, they’re the ones that
are called to do that not me. But as we see both Mathias and Joseph are called
to witness. Both can testify to glory of God. Matthias is not greater than
Joseph, neither men are mentioned again after this passage. But as we continue
in our stories we can bet that both men are there as part of the gathered
following on the day of Pentecost. Both men received that spirit, and both were
sent into the world to witness to the good news that Jesus Christ now sits on
the throne of judgement, the Kingdom of God has been established and Jesus is
Lord!
We all have a story to tell. It doesn’t matter if you are
lay or clergy, I am sure that you have witnessed sometime in your life the
amazing works of Jesus Christ in this world. As 1 John says, “Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in
their hearts.” It is my job to witness to my faith, but not because I am
a pastor, but because like you I am a follower of Christ. I am called to tell
the story of how God’s love entered my heart on a youth trip to Lake Junaluska.
I am called to tell how I have seen a glimpse of the Kingdom in its fullest as
I worshiped at Seth Mokitimi seminary in South Africa singing “How Great Thou
Art” in the many different languages of the students there. And I am called to
tell these stories because I have been a witness to the glory of God in my
life, and because these stories are powerful. I remember the stories my mom
would tell of my grandfather in his ministries, standing up against
segregation, even when his life was threatened on multiple occasions. It is
stories like these that help spark my own flame and have given me courage to
witness.
But the storytelling does not rest squarely on my
shoulders. Like Mathias and Joseph, You and I are both witnesses of the glory
of God. You and I are both called to tell the stories. As we tell the stories
of Christ, let us do it with the same passion and frequency as we do our other
stories. Hopefully when we talked about Christ we can get as excited as I do
when I talk about witnessing Duke win the championship, or that you do about
the fish you caught that one time; because let’s face it no other story we
could tell could ever match the story of God as human dying, rising from the
dead, and ascending into Heaven. Let us as the classic hymn says “love to tell
the story” because 2015 may be the year of ordination and 2013 may be the year
of our wedding; but all of them are the year of the Lord.
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