I.Theme – The Role of an Apostle
"The Word of Life mural" – Millard Sheets (1964)
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
First Reading – Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Psalm – Psalm 1
Epistle –1 John 5:9-13
Gospel – John 17:6-19
Today’s readings examine the role of an apostle of Jesus Christ. In Acts, the eleven remaining apostles welcome Matthias as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection. The author of 1 John asserts that those who acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God will abide in God and God in them. In today’s gospel, Jesus prays for his followers’ sanctification in the truth of God’s word.
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 This passage recounts the choosing of another apostle to replace Judas. The early Church sought confirmation in the Old Testament for what Christians experienced, hence the application of the generalized descriptions in Psalm 69:25 and 109:8 to the specific case of Judas.
The choosing of 12 disciples as a special group seems to have been a sign of the coming age and of the new Israel. They are a distinct group whose numbers need to be restored after Judas’s defection.
In today’s passage, the company of believers picks out two candidates who fulfill the criteria and then they cast lots—an Old Testament custom to allow the operation of God’s will (see Proverbs 16:33). Matthias will share in ministry as the servant of the community and in apostleship as the missionary envoy of Christ.
Psalm 1 This psalm, with its call to a righteous life based on knowledge of the “law of the LORD,” the Torah, serves as a fitting introduction to all the psalms. It springs from the wisdom tradition, which emphasized how to live in both material and spiritual prosperity.
The righteous are those who have not taken the advice of the wicked, nor imitated their way of life, nor joined in their rejection of the law. They “meditate” (v. 2) upon it, literally, read it aloud in a low voice. The LORD is in intimate and personal relationship with the righteous.
1 John 5:9-13 Today’s reading includes the end of the discussion on the witness to the Son of God, a statement of the point of the epistle and its purpose and the first part of an appendix. The testimony of God was manifested in two ways: first, through God’s saving action in Jesus; second, through the result of that action—eternal life for the believer.
Verse 12 encapsulates the call to decision, toward which the whole letter has been leading. Verse 13 summarizes the epistle in a way similar to John 20:31. The appendix speaks of prayer “according to his will” (v. 14) as John does of prayer “in his name” (John 14:13-14 and 16:23-24).
John 17:6-19 Chapter 17 is known as the “prayer of consecration” or “high priestly prayer” of Jesus. He offers himself to the Father and speaks as high priest in offering intercession for others. Jesus’ ministry on earth is completed. He has revealed God to the disciples.
For John, this prayer is the expression of Jesus’ union and communion with the Father, spoken aloud before the disciples so that they may share that union. It is revelation as well as intercession.
Jesus prays for himself (17:1), for the disciples (17:9) and for future believers (17:20). He prays that the disciples may be kept safe from the world by the power of the name God has given him.
In John, the “world” (Greek, kosmos), means the universe under human direction, or more particularly human society. The world is not evil in itself. God wills to save it through Jesus.
The world is, however, oriented toward and dominated by evil, so that it comes to stand for those who reject Jesus. The disciples, and all Christians, “do not belong to the world” (v. 14). They do not have the world as their point of origin. They belong to God for they have been born anew.
The disciples—and all Christians—are consecrated, set apart, as Jesus was by his incarnation. This is not merely for self-purification but for mission into the world. The mission of the disciples, continuing the presence of Jesus, brings the world to judgment.
II. Articles for this week in WorkingPreacher:
First Reading – Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Psalm – Psalm 1
Epistle – 1 John 5:9-13
Gospel – John 17:6-19