Sermon -- Festival of St. Matthias, Apostle

This sermon was preached at Hope Christian Academy in Westland, Michigan.

ACTS 1:15-26

The Festival of St. Matthias, Apostle

In the name + of Jesus.

     “This saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to become an overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1).  The Lord has established the office of the holy ministry for the good of the Church.  The Church does not exist for the sake of the pastor; the pastor exists for the sake of the Church.  He is the Lord’s servant.  He is sent to serve you by preaching and teaching God’s word, by administering the sacraments, by absolving the penitent, and by admonishing the impenitent.  And he serves the Lord as one who is accountable to God for his service.  The desire to be a pastor is a good one, and it is good for all the boys here to consider if that is how you could serve the Lord and his Church.

     What makes someone a pastor?  The short answer: God does.  Simply having the desire to be a pastor does not make you a pastor.  Jesus had gathered many disciples to himself, but they were not all chosen to be his apostles.  Jesus hand-picked twelve.  To them, he gave authority to preach, to heal diseases, and to drive out demons.  They trained for three years with Jesus.  They heard his teaching, received private instruction, and witnessed his miracles, particularly his resurrection from the dead.  As much as others may have wanted to be apostles, no one could take that honor or authority for himself.  Jesus had to give it.

     Sadly, not all the apostles remained faithful to Jesus.  Judas Iscariot was motivated by greed rather than godliness, and he agreed to betray Jesus for cash.  Overwhelmed by guilt, Judas hanged himself.  He fell from the faith and then fell headlong from his noose to a gruesome death.  This left a vacancy among the apostles.

     Again, the remaining Eleven did not seek volunteers.  Perhaps some had the desire to be apostles.  Perhaps some felt they had the right to be apostles.  But just having the desire to be an apostle does not give one the right to be an apostle.  The book of Acts records who alone would have been eligible to be an apostle of our Lord.  St. Peter said, “‘Therefore it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us during the entire time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from his baptism by John until the day Jesus was taken up from us, become a witness with us of his resurrection.’  They proposed two: Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus) and Matthias” (Acts 1:21-23).  These two men were deemed eligible to be apostles, but there was only one vacancy.  So, the Church prayed that the Lord would reveal which man would fill the office.  They cast lots, “and the lot fell to Matthias.  So he was counted with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26).  What made Matthias an apostle?  God did.

     From this time forward, we hear nothing about St. Matthias.  We don’t know where he preached, but we do know what he preached.  As a witness of Jesus’ teachings and miracles, his death and resurrection, Matthias boldly claimed that God has taken a keen interest in sinners.  That preaching could be terrifying at first.  How does it make you feel to know that everything you do is seen by God?  That every word you have said—even what you whispered in secret or sent privately in a text—is known by God?  That every thought you’ve considered is open to God?  You’ve probably heard it said that the internet is forever.  Anything you put into the cyberworld can come back to haunt you.  Now, you can get around that by not putting your comments or photos on the internet.  But there are no secrets with God.  The Bible declares, “Death and Destruction lie open before the Lord—how much more human hearts” (Proverbs 15:11)!

     The Lord has taken a keen interest in you.  It is not to convict and to condemn you; it is to console you and to save you.  The Lord’s interest in you is revealed in Jesus Christ.  He is God who became a man to dwell with sinners.  When Jesus exposes your sins, it is like a doctor who tells you, “You have a tumor in your brain.  If it is not removed, it will kill you.”  Jesus says, “You have sin in your heart.  If it is not removed, it will kill you.  Good news: I have come to restore and renew your heart.”

     The Lord has come to alleviate you of the sins that haunt you.  The Lord has come to take upon himself your curse and to suffer and die in your place.  And to prove to you that his payment for your sins is sufficient, Jesus rose from the dead.  The Savior lives to purify you of all unrighteousness.  The Savior reigns for your good.  St. Matthias bore witness to all of this.  He preached it freely and fearlessly so that people could be freed from their sins and live without fear of death and hell.

     There are no longer apostles in the Christian Church today—that is, people who were chosen personally by Jesus and who witnessed his life, death, and resurrection.  But the Church does have pastors who continue to preach, teach, administer the sacraments, absolve the penitent, and admonish the impenitent.  And just as no one could insist on his right to be an apostle, so also no one today can enter a church and insist that he is the pastor.  The Lord worked through the Church to call Matthias to fill the office of an apostle, and so the Holy Spirit works through the church today to call men to be pastors to serve in a particular time and place.

     This should not be shocking to you.  It works similarly in many occupations.  Say you have the desire to be a police officer, which is also a noble task.  Just having the desire does not make you a cop.  If you were to go to a local precinct and tell the officer on duty that you want to be a cop, he would not give you a uniform and the keys to a squad car.  It requires training from an academy.  Upon graduation, you would be qualified to be a police officer, but that still does not make you one.  A department must hire you.  They give you the authority to serve as a police officer.  So also, men are trained to be pastors.  They study at a seminary.  Upon graduation, they are qualified to serve as pastors.  But that does not make them pastors.  What makes someone a pastor?  God does.  The Lord works through a congregation to call a man to be a pastor.  This, therefore, is a divine call.  It assures the pastor that this congregation is the place God wants him to serve, and it assures the congregation that this is the pastor God wants them to have.

     In his wisdom, the Lord was pleased to add St. Matthias to the number of the apostles.  We don’t know much more about Matthias.  The traditions about his life and ministry are vague and contradictory.  We don’t know where he preached or how he died.  This is no great tragedy.  Countless pastors have served God’s people in God’s Church who are not remembered.  The Lord, however, remembers them.  The Lord had a keen interest in them and their service.  The Lord blessed them for their faithful service, and the Lord blessed his Church through them.  That is what matters.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.