Clergy Notes — Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 12, 2024

This Sunday’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the selection of a new apostle to fill the spot left open by Judas. Criteria are identified and two names are put forward. The text doesn’t tell us why Matthias is chosen over Barsabbas, nor – interestingly – does it tell us much of what happened to either of them after this event takes place.

It got me thinking about whom we consider to be important in the Kingdom of God. We commemorate pioneers of the church, prophets, priests, martyrs, social justice warriors, mystics, bishops, monastics, scholars… but these are only a fraction of the people who have contributed to God’s Kingdom.

There are so many more whose names and stories have never been passed on. Countless women and men of faith throughout the ages, unseen and unknown, offering acts of service and prayer and devotion and self-sacrifice in order that the Gospel may be made known in their time and age.

Like them, most of us will never have our names written in history books or hagiographies. And yet, every one of us has contributed to the Kingdom of God: in an outpouring of time and talent and treasure; of faithfulness and hope and tears; of prayer and love and acts of service. Some are more ‘front-and-centre’; others prefer to remain behind the scenes; many of us are somewhere in between. Yet every one of us by virtue of our baptism is a member of the elect. Every one of us is an apostle of Christ. God knows every single one of our names, even if history books never will.

What happened to Barsabbas after he ‘lost’ the election? I’d like to think he kept on doing God’s work as faithfully as he did before. I’d like to think he still did the work of an apostle. Because like him, we are all called to be apostles: witnesses to the resurrection of Christ; messengers proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom. May we all live more fully into that vocation in all aspects of our lives – both seen and unseen.

Mother Amanda

Download the Liturgy at Home booklet for Sunday, May 12, 2024