Not everyone, it would seem, is pleased with the current Roman Pontiff. If that hadn’t been clear to me already, it would certainly be apparent in many of the comments some of my recent posts (this one and this one, for instance) have received in various online venues. Who would have thought it?
Happily, I’m not writing today to discuss the worthiness (or lack thereof) of Pope Francis for his current job. Instead we’re looking at St. Mathias, whose feast we are celebrating. I mention the current Pope because our discussion of St. Mathias will necessarily involve the papal office, if not the papal personality.
St. Mathias was the thirteenth Apostle, chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after Judas betrayed the Lord then took his own life. It’s interesting that our scriptural sources actually tell us very little about St. Mathias himself. The only place he is mentioned by name is the passage is the Acts of the Apostles that describes his election:
In those days Peter stood up among the brethren (the company of persons was in all about a hundred and twenty), and said, “Brethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David, concerning Judas who was guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us, and was allotted his share in this ministry . . . For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his habitation become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it’; and ‘His office let another take.’ So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us–one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two thou hast chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:15-26)
Notice that the only personal information we have about st. Mathias, aside from the fact of his election, was that he had been a follower of Jesus since the beginning of his ministry. That’s all. Now, as an Apostle Mathias was ipso facto an important person, and there are various traditions identifying him with other names that come up in the New Testament, and about his ministry and martyrdom; the passage above, however, is the only canonical information we have. Which is to say that whatever importance he had in his own time, his significance for us lies in the very fact and manner of his selection.
So, what do we see in this passage? We see Peter taking the initiative: he presides and authoritatively interprets Scripture. We see also that it is universally understood that the Apostles hold an office that someone must fill when another relinquishes it, and it is accepted that their choice is guided by the Holy Spirit. We also have concrete confirmation that Jesus’ mission didn’t pass from the world when he ascended into Heaven, but was to be carried forward by his followers.
This passage and others like it were very important to me at the time of my reversion to the Church after my exile among the secular humanists. One of the first things I did following my own initial conversion experience was to read through the New Testament, where I could see in this passage not just the Early Church, but the Catholic Church with Pope and Bishops already in place just a few days after the Ascension. Not only that, it’s clear that they were already exercising magisterial authority, with the help of the Third Person of the Trinity, even before the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit a few days later at Pentacost. It confirmed for me that if I wanted to set aside my disordered life and follow Jesus, I also needed to submit to the authority of the Church that He had established from the beginning.
“As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” (John 20:21)
“The Great Commission” by Szymon Czechowicz, 1758
That’s not to say that we owe unthinking obedience to all pronouncements from persons holding positions of authority in the Church (this is a topic I also discuss in “What Do We Do When Our Priest Is A Communist?” Part I & Part II). Let’s remember that the passage from the Acts of the Apostles above tells us more about the need to fill an office that’s been vacated by the wrongdoing of its occupant than it does about the personal qualities of the new Apostle Mathias. The holders of office come and go, but the office itself remains, and retains the authority invested in it by none other than Jesus Christ himself. That is in fact one of the salient themes of yesterday’s Feast of the Ascension: Jesus is withdrawing his direct, human presence so that his followers can take over the leadership of his mission. It is clear that the authority they are to exercise is his, not their own, and that they are to be guided by the Holy Spirit. For instance, in John’s Gospel we read:
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:21-23)
and also in Matthew’s Gospel:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
So, yes, today’s feast honors one of the first Apostles and, in fact the very first successor to the Apostles. It is also a timely reminder that malfeasance on the part of an office holder, even on the scale of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus himself, can’t undo that essential office.
Concluding Prayer from today’s Liturgy of the Hours:
O God,
Who assigned St. Mathias
a place in the college of Apostles,
grant us, through his intercession, that,
rejoicing at how your love has been allotted to us,
we may merit to be numbered among the elect.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever,
– Amen.
