Saturday May 14, 2022

MATTHIAS, APOSTLE, Feast

Matthias was elected by the apostles to replace Judas, the traitor, because he had been a disciple of Jesus from the very beginning, from the time when Jesus was baptized by John until the ascension. His qualification was, then, that he could witness to the risen Christ. And so should we.

 

Reading: Acts 1:15-17,20-26

 During this time, Peter stood up in the company—there were about 120 of them in the room at the time—and said, “Friends, long ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David regarding Judas, who became the guide to those who arrested Jesus. That Scripture had to be fulfilled, and now has been. Judas was one of us and had his assigned place in this ministry.

Let someone else take over his post.

“Judas must now be replaced. The replacement must come from the company of men who stayed together with us from the time Jesus was baptized by John up to the day of his ascension, designated along with us as a witness to his resurrection.”

They nominated two: Joseph Barsabbas, nicknamed Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, “You, O God, know every one of us inside and out. Make plain which of these two men you choose to take the place in this ministry and leadership that Judas threw away in order to go his own way.” They then drew straws. Matthias won and was counted in with the eleven apostles.

 

Gospel: John 15:9-17

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.

 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.

 “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.

 “But remember the root command: Love one another.

 

Prayer

Lord God,
your apostle Matthias was a witness
to the life and death of Jesus Christ
and to his glorious resurrection.
May also today your people bear witness
to the life of your Son
by living his life as best as they can,
and radiating the joy
of people who are rising with him
to a new and deeper life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

14 May 2022
John 15: 9-17

That your Joy may be full…

The Gospel today takes us to the Last Supper, where we hear Jesus’ new commandment: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (v. 12).

After having compared Himself to the vine and us to the branches, Jesus, guarantees the fruit borne by those who remain united to Him: that fruit is love. He invites us to abide in his love so that his joy may be in us and our joy may be full (vv. 9-11). To abide in Jesus’ love.

But, we have the most important question: how do we abide in the love of Jesus? “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,” (v. 10) Jesus says. Our doubts are not totally clarified yet:– what are his commandments? Are they the same as the 10 commandments? Jesus summarises his commandments into a single one: “that you love one another as I have loved you” (v. 12).

Loving our brothers and sisters as Jesus loves us means to humble ourselves, to serve them, as Jesus did in washing the feet of the disciples. It also means going outside of ourselves, detaching ourselves from our prejudices, from our comforts, to open ourselves up to others, to their pains and their needs. It means making ourselves available, as we are and with what we have. This means to love not in word, but in deeds.

Pope Francis teaches us that, “To love like Christ means to say ‘no’ to other ‘loves’ that the world offers us: love of money, love of success, vanity, [love] of power…. These deceptive paths of “love” take us away from the Lord’s love and lead us to become more and more selfish, narcissistic and overbearing.

Our attitude of domination leads to a degeneration of love, to the abuse others, to making our loved ones suffer. The Pope says that “Unhealthy love turns into violence. This is not love. To love as the Lord loves us means to appreciate the people beside us, to respect their freedom, to love them as they are, gratuitously, and not as we want them to be.

Ultimately, Jesus asks us to abide in his love, and not in our self-worship. Those who dwell in self-worship, live in the mirror, always looking at themselves. Abiding in the Lord’s love leads us to the promise of joy that God alone can give us. And the Lord grants us the joy of God. The joy of knowing we are loved by God despite our infidelities, enables us to face the trials of life confidently. True Christians are not sad; they always have that joy inside, even in difficult moments.

 

Video available on Youtube: That your Joy may be full…