Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
The NFL football draft just happened this past week. Players and spectators are on pins and needles as they await who will be picked next. In today’s reading the Apostles are having a draft of their own. Imagine being Barsabbas or Matthias waiting to see which will be chosen. Do they want this job? Are they excited or are they terrified?
In the NFL the potential players are concerned not only about who will be picked but about which team might pick them. Yet, for us who take our faith seriously, we already know who has chosen us, and for which team we play. In the NFL, the team for which one is chosen may make a considerable difference whether a player will get playing time or even be on a winning team. In the draft in Acts of the Apostles, both will get the same amount of playing time, albeit they may have different jobs. Also, Barsabbas and Matthias know they will be playing for the winning team.
Do we recognize that we are in the game now and that we are playing for the team that will be victorious? Even if we do recognize this, we sometimes are nervous about what is being asked of us to play on that team, sometimes it may even terrify us. At other times this playing or discipleship may give us great excitement. Like when we experience conversion and we want to share it; we must not let our anxieties confine us, but must step out in faith for the Lord is on our side.
We do not get a large paycheck to play on this team like in the NFL, so what is our reward? The answer in today’s gospel is God has chosen us to be faithful disciples and that our reward is joy.
"Lord You call us up to the big leagues. Help us be open to You so that our joy may be complete."
Now the question we need to answer for ourselves is “Are we ready?”
-Michael Montgomery