Scripture. Acts 1:15-26. Common English Bible.
15 During this time, the family of believers was a company of about one hundred twenty persons. Peter stood among them and said, 16 “Brothers and sisters, the scripture that the Holy Spirit announced beforehand through David had to be fulfilled. This was the scripture concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 This happened even though he was one of us and received a share of this ministry.” (18 In fact, he bought a field with the payment he received for his injustice. Falling headfirst, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines spilled out. 19 This became known to everyone living in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Hakeldama, or “Field of Blood.”) 20 “It is written in the Psalms scroll,
Let his home become deserted and let there be no one living in it;
and
Give his position of leadership to another.
21 “Therefore, we must select one of those who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus lived among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when Jesus was taken from us. This person must become along with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 So they nominated two: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
24 They prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s deepest thoughts and desires. Show us clearly which one you have chosen from among these two 25 to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” 26 When they cast lots, the lot fell on Matthias. He was added to the eleven apostles.
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Blessings to you on this Mother’s Day under Quarantine. I don’t often remember my dreams but I had a dream last night that it was Mother’s Day, we had a special choir performance and a string quartet. The sanctuary was full to overflowing and every available space was filled with flowers. I awoke equally excited and terrified. You see, In some congregations the Mothers Day sermon ranks right up there with the Easter sermon. Because of this, preachers tend to approach it with some trepidation. This will be my 16th Mother’s Day Sermon, and perhaps my most difficult, because we are under quarantine. Mind you, Mother’s Day is never easy for me. I am not a mother, and for many years that was hard to live with. People would try to make me feel better by saying, oh but Pastor, you mother the whole congregation. Yeah, no. That really doesn’t help. But therapy did, so there’s that. Every Mother’s Day I think about all the people who didn’t have a mother or whose mother was nowhere close to being a shining example of motherhood, who maybe ended up in the foster care system. I think of those whose mother is gone and who miss her terribly, especially today. I know this is a hard day for for all of these . . . But that does not keep us from celebrating today with joy and gratitude for all the mothers who have raised families the best they knew how, who loved and are loved. Since we can’t give out flowers to everyone in person I tried to get some red, white and pink carnations to decorate my little sermonizing spot here, but I was unsuccessful. We’ll just have to make do with fake Easter lilies.
Today’s scripture reading has nothing at all to do with mothers or mothering, and I can’t make it. Believe me, I tried. This passage is about selecting the right leader. I would like to note that some commentaries leave out verses 18-20 about Judas’ death, in part because they are just icky and for some reason people like to read around the icky parts. And, since these verses are parenthetical and are really sort of an aside, I suppose that they were felt to be irrelevant. Further, these verses differ pretty significantly from the version of Judas’ death we find in Matthew 27:3-10, which is that Judas refused the money, he went out and hanged himself, the Temple priests bought the land he killed himself on with the money he refused, and used the field for the burial of foreigners. This, Matthew tells us, was in fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by Jeremiah, not according the the Psalms as Peter says here. And we very much like to try to avoid dealing with differences in Scripture. I mean, we can deal with minor differences . . . things like whether Jesus cursed the fig tree before or after he turned over the moneychangers’ tables, exactly how many people were fed with a few fish and some bread, and which of the persons who are named in various Gospels as being selected by Jesus to be his disciples are the real deal, cause there are considerably more than 12 individual names. This passage actually might help us understand that last one, because clearly there were more than The Twelve with Jesus from the beginning or that wouldn’t be one of the job requirements to be the new Twelfth.
How do we deal with these differences? Scholars will tell you that each of the Gospel writers was addressing a particular audience, and that the stories they told were adapted to fit their audience. So it isn’t the case that one version of the story is right or wrong. It is simply that different emphases are important to different groups of people. Mark spoke to Gentile Christians, predominantly Romans, who didn’t know Scripture but understood power very well. So Mark’s Gospel is sort of bare bones, just the facts kind of stories emphasizing Jesus’ power and the source of that power. Luke was a well educated Greek speaking to Gentile Christians throughout the Roman Empire, telling the stories in a way that focused on Jesus’ mission to the entire world, with little or no distinction made between Jews and Gentiles. Matthew addressed Jewish Christians living in and around Palestine, and is deeply rooted in Jewish culture and belief. These three, who told mostly the same stories, told them in a way that would best engage their primary audience, which makes perfect sense. Each of us, when we tell a story, will tell it a bit differently each time depending on who we are telling it to.
Anyway, selecting a new leader. Choosing a leader can a daunting task. Anyone who has ever served on a search committee will attest to that. It seems the process has grown considerably more complicated in the last 2,000 years. There was one job requirement for Judas’ replacement, that the person had been with them from the day Jesus was baptized until the day of the resurrection. They wouldn’t need references, because they’d been spending all of their time together. Education and previous employment didn’t matter anymore than such things had mattered when Jesus chose the original Twelve. The applicants didn’t need to prepare a resume listing all their accomplishments, because all that mattered was that they were part of that group who had walked together, eaten together, prayed together, fussed and argued with each other, and followed Jesus for his entire ministry.
Likewise the job description sounded much simpler than they are today. The person selected must become a witness to Jesus’ resurrection along with the remaining eleven. There was no list of duties or responsibilities, nothing about performance reviews or giving notice. Little did any of them know where that very simple job description would take them. They will travel to the very ends of the earth preaching the Good News and establishing an entirely new religion. They will begin to develop a new theology, a new understanding of God through Jesus. They will be called upon to make decisions about who can become a Christian, about circumcision and dietary laws. Their preaching will be welcomed with open arms and make many new converts. And they will face persecution, imprisonment, and execution because of their preaching. Talk about “other duties as required!”
Out of 120 persons gathered that day, two were nominated as being best suited to take on this work. The final decision of who would be the new Twelfth disciple was left up to God. They prayed and they cast lots, which was a common way of breaking ties or picking answers in the Hebrew Scriptures, like drawing straws or rolling dice. Matthais was chosen. There could be no hard feelings or resentment as everyone would have been certain that the choice was not due to personal popularity or any political reasons, but rather God’s will. After the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost this method of selection would be left behind.
Earlier this week I downloaded a book from the Alban Institute on congregational leadership titled How to lead when you don’t know where you are going: leading in a liminal season. Liminal is a word to describe a time of transition, a between time, a time that is neither one thing nor the other. It is like the time between finishing your last class and walking across the stage to get your diploma. You are no longer a student, but you are not yet a graduate. For those who are scheduled to graduate this year, this liminal time is even more uncomfortable than usual.
This is the place the disciples found themselves. They have spent forty days learning everything they needed to know from the Risen Christ. They have seen Jesus ascend to the heavens. And now they are in Jerusalem, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come as Jesus had promised. They had no idea what that meant, but they were waiting. The Twelve, who will be the leaders of this movement, are no better informed than the other 100+ believers. They knew they would receive power from the Holy Spirit, and that Jesus had charged them to be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”. But what that would look like, how their lives would change after - they had no idea. They don’t even know exactly how long they will have to wait before the Holy Spirit comes. They are going to have to figure it all out as they go along.
It seems to me that pretty much describes where we right now, because if ever we were in a liminal season - a time of transition - this would be that time. We’ve seen changes and transitions before, but none of us have ever seen anything quite like our current situation. We are in much the same position as the disciples were. We don’t know what lies ahead. We know we have decisions to make. Lots of people are discussing how to make those decisions, and publishing guidelines and potential the best practices for going forward. I have been bombarded with links to blogs and articles and studies and lots of conflicting opinions that are supposed to help us figure out what to do next.
And I keep circling back to this place, the place where the disciples were in those days between Jesus ascending to heaven and the Holy Spirit arriving at Pentecost. . . that liminal place - that transitional place - that neither one thing nor the other place.
By the way, that book on leadership in a liminal time doesn’t really live up to the coolness of its title. Like so many other books on congregational leadership it begins with the premise that most congregations don’t have a clearly stated mission, and therefore flounder around trying to figure out just who they are until they have no choice but to close their doors. The author then describes how some congregations she worked with as a consultant were able to completely re-invent themselves and become vibrant, thriving, growing congregations. There will be parts that are helpful going forward, and other parts that are not, because those congregations were not facing the possibility that their communities would be changed in some very significant ways. They knew what their world looked like. Our world is changing.
What the disciples knew for sure - and what we know for sure - is that God is in charge. They depended upon God to make the choice between Justus and Matthais. They depended upon God to send the Holy Spirit when the time was right. They didn’t know what to do next anymore than we do right now, but they were content to wait as long as it took, because they knew whatever came next would happen in God’s time.
What came next for those 120+ believers was a completely new reality - the beginning of a very new thing, a thing that had not been seen before. They would experience an inpouring of the Spirit that would enable them to speak in ways that touched the hearts of their listeners. They will be receive the power to carry out their mission, to carry the Good News to the ends of the earth. But for now, they wait to see what happens next. They wait, and they trust in God. As we do. We know, as they did, that no matter what comes next for us, God will be in charge.
Just as they gathered as one community of faith, so do we even though we are all in separate places. Just as they called upon God to lead them to the right choices, so do we. May we continue to depend on God to lead us, and direct us in the doing of his will for us. Amen
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