Who is Qualified to Witness to the Resurrection?

And then there were eleven. For forty days these eleven apostles had seen, ate meals with, touched and talked with the risen Lord, and that time was now over. Lest we think that it was a limited and males only group, chapter one of the book of Acts indicates that there were certain women among them, including Mary the mother of Jesus. In the days after the risen Christ had been lifted up toward heaven and vanished forever out of their sight, from what we can read it is clear that the followers of Jesus stuck together as a group and prayed – a lot.

As we take a closer look at the story in Acts, a couple of things stand out. The first is the impulse to fill the missing apostle chair of Judas. Peter certainly does not hold back, citing the scripture going back to King David’s time in foretelling what would happen to Judas. They were clearly distancing themselves from one of their own who had been trusted enough to once handle all of their money. On one hand we can understand the quick need to fill a vacancy. Just weeks ago when the head of the CIA was fired – (few people actually “get fired” anymore but rather leave to spend more time with their family) – nevertheless it was important for the administration to name a successor. So that part I understand. But there is also something behind the sense of completion and perfection in the number twelve that warrants a closer look. The other piece of this search process for a new twelfth apostle is the sense of qualifications. Matthias and Justus were considered to fill the vacancy because they had been with Jesus and others from the very beginning until the very end, and thus could witness to the resurrection. It seems that their qualifications were based more on their showing up than what kind of preachers or teachers or administrators they would be. What does that have to say about our feeling prepared or unprepared to live out a faithful life?

First, let’s go back to the story. In Acts we read how Peter gathers the others and begins to imagine their future. The first problem was one of personnel. Eleven would not do; it had to be twelve -- twelve not out of convenience but rather out of sacred necessity. There were twelve tribes of Israel, and with the room full of Jewish believers in Jerusalem – the geographical center of the Jewish people – the followers of Jesus were not about to walk away from their tradition. The church community that Peter and the others were forming in these early days would be seen as the New Israel, so it carried with it symbols of the former Israel. A new age could not begin until the twelve tribes would be restored. In that crowded room of breathless and prayerful believers, twelve apostles were what they needed to move forward.

The Bible’s use of symbolism and numbers is part of the fabric of the story of salvation. Vines and vineyard, sheep and shepherds, brides and bridegrooms and potters and clay become ways in which scripture points to this unbreakable relationship between God and God’s children. Numbers play a role, with the number ‘one’ being about beginning. ‘Two’ is a number associated with witness. Just as you need a witness on the golf course to testify to a hole in one, you need a witness to verify the empty tomb. ‘Three’ is of course the trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. ‘Six’ is both a symbol for man and Satan. ‘Seven’ is perfection and completeness, ‘ten’ is the law, and ‘fifty’, the number of days between Easter and Pentecost – is a time of liberty and jubilee.

Applying meaning to numbers did not end in Biblical days; it survives to our day. Consider the pull and weight we give to certain numbers to define meaning. In our culture, a number tells us when it is time to grow up: 18 years is the legal mark. Of course at 18 you can be drafted to go war – in previous wars many younger than 18 volunteered and fought and died in the wars of this country going back to the Revolutionary War and our nation remembers them in memorial this weekend. At 18 we can vote, but still not buy a drink until 21. At 25 you can rent a car on your own. 40 seems to be the first big number when others reflect back to you that something has changed. At the age of 40, a group of friends and family sometimes throw a dreaded surprise party to remind you that you’ve passed a barrier and milestone out of the youthful stage of your life. At 50 you can join AARP. 65 had long promised retirement and social security, but for my generation that marker has been pushed to 67 and more and more people are opting to work longer.

Lately, I have shied away from filling out online financial planning tools that one can use to plug in numbers and life expectations to determine how much money is needed to enjoy a secure retirement. What I most dread is how high the perfect number always seems to be – making it seem out of reach and causing many to not even begin the process of saving. The same thing can be said for parents trying to save for their children’s college education. The estimated cost of four years of college is often so high, that it makes it challenging to begin saving, though a parent has no option but to begin.

In replacing Judas Iscariot with Matthias, the apostles rounded out their number to what for them was the “perfect and complete” number twelve. But the allure and pull of perfection and completion lives on today. Too often far too much attention can be given to a number that defines and measures who and what we should be. And faith is not a numbers game. We should not hold onto the belief that hitting a milestone or reaching a goal by a certain age will necessarily bring about what God most hopes for us. Clearly the world around us will tell us where it feels we should be by 18, 40, 65 and 80, but we are not a number. We are unique. No one in this world is like us. We can search the world over for the so-called perfect life, perfect relationship, complete job, ideal children and grandchildren, and the perfect realized self – and though it all sounds good and right, it doesn’t match what Jesus taught. In John’s gospel we heard today, Jesus speaks the words he does so that his joy may be made complete in us. The joy we all hope and pray for is first Christ’s joy, and then this joy given to us through grace.

When it came time to fill the vacancy of Judas, they drew lots to see if Matthias or Justus would be the successor. Churches today spend almost two years to fill a vacancy of their rector or dean by organizing a search committee to receive resumes, interview candidates, visit them in their home parishes, and finally make a call. Wouldn’t it have been more Biblical here at the Cathedral to have just gotten a few people in the room at the very beginning of the process and flipped a coin? The reason Matthias was even considered was that he was with Jesus throughout his ministry and could speak as an eyewitness. That is not our case today. What are the qualifications of being a follower of the Risen Christ?

Clearly we live in a society that pays attention to qualifications – where one goes to school, the number of diplomas that hang on a wall and the number of years of experience one has. In God’s eyes, it matters little. Do we love God? Do we say our prayers? Are we thankful for what we have been given? Do we try to encourage others when they are down? Do we visit a sick friend, write a note, pray for peace, and try to comfort a friend who has lost a loved one? Can we imagine seeing Christ in the face of the person we pass each day?

In these closing days of the Easter season, we are reminded that the perfection and completeness that God and Christ promises cannot be found in anything that we can achieve on our own. It is only through grace that new life is made possible for us each new day. A new kind of life determined less by luck, chance and qualifications than by trust, hope and openness to God and those around us.