True Testimony

Easter 7 – May 12, 2024

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Psalm 1
1 John 5:9-13
John 17:6-19

If you were to spend some time studying the disciples you would discover some inconsistencies between the accounts. The gospels do not even give them all the same names. Even though Luke had a copy of Mark he has two disciples with the name of Judas eliminating Thaddeus. Another difference is when and how they are called. Some of this difference might be a language issue. We take Simon, who has three names as an example. John tells us that Jesus changed his name to Cephas. That is a play on words. In Aramaic the word for rock is kepha hence Jesus called him Cephas the rock on which the church will be built. But in Greek the work for rock is petros (where we get words like petroleum) so, in order to keep the play on words, his name was changed to Peter for those who spoke Greek. We also note that other than Peter, James, and John, the other disciples remain inconspicuous throughout the gospels. There is some doubt among scholars that Jesus actually chose a special twelve from those who followed him to an inner circle. Luke tells us at one point that Jesus sent out seventy to proclaim the gospel. And, by the way, where are the women?

Did Jesus only invite the twelve to follow? I assume that Jesus called most of those who followed him. Some whom he called took leadership roles and some who answered the call left disappointed. It could well be that the early church designated the number twelve to reflect the twelve tribes of Israel to show that God had blessed the missionary work of the church or that it was to go into all the world. The number twelve has been used symbolically to represent all of something. It is the perfect number three multiplied by the four directions of the compass.

I bring this up because the number seems to have concerned Luke. He is the only one who tells us the story of choosing a replacement for Judas. The other gospel writers and Paul seem to not know about this event or, if they did, they did not care. This story is a bit strange to us. I am pretty sure none of us would suggest that we should decide what God wants by drawing lots. We do that when we want a random outcome – not God’s will. Even after choosing a twelfth disciple we still do not see many of them in the missionary work of the church.

That may be because they were acting just like everyone else in the early church. All of the first Christians spent their time proclaiming the good news of Jesus. No one stood out but the few because everyone worked together. As the community grew there were more diverse roles for the members of the community. There were those who spread the gospel and those who looked after the community in the ever growing number of places where there were Christians. While the tasks became different the call to be part of the community remained. Everyone was a disciple of Jesus. That is what the church is. We are no different. We are called by Jesus into his body. Each of us has been given a task and the gifts needed to fulfill that task. While our tasks differ, they all revolve around sharing God’s love with the world. From giving abundantly of our resources to giving a kind word to someone who feels lonely to praying for our enemies, we are called to be the people who bring God’s love, peace, and justice into the world. Pray that you will always be able to discern your task and when the opportunity comes, share God’s love with the world.