Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 28, 2006
BCP: Acts 1:15-26 or Exodus 28:1-4,9-10,29-30; Psalm 68:1-20 or 47; 1 John 5:9-15 or Acts 1:15-26; John 17:11b-19.
RCL: Acts 1:15-17,21-26; Psalm 1; 1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19.
If both the passage appointed from Exodus and the verses from the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles are read at the liturgy on this Seventh Sunday of Easter, the preacher will be afforded an excellent opportunity to reflect on the ministry of holy orders.
The Old Testament lesson speaks of the “holy garments” of Aaron and his consecration, along with his sons, as priests to serve the Lord. The description of “the breastpiece of judgment,” with the names of the sons of Israel engraved upon the stones that adorn it, gives a beautiful symbol of the intercessory ministry. It is to be worn “upon his heart, when he goes into the holy place, to bring them to continual remembrance before the Lord.”
From Acts, we read of the prayerful selection of Matthias “to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside.”
Being reminded of the importance of this apostleship, we might recall that an “apostle” is “one who is sent.” Just as God sent his Son for the salvation of the world, the apostles are sent to extend the ministry of the risen Lord Jesus. In the gospel Jesus prays, “As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” In like manner, as a continuation of this apostolic ministry, the ordained are sent to serve God and his people in the places to which they are called.
At the heart of this service is the proclamation of the good news of eternal life in Jesus Christ. As the epistle reading declares, “this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” The choosing of Matthias was grounded in the need discerned by Peter within the earliest Christian congregation to have another “become with us a witness to his resurrection.” Until Christ comes in glory, the faithful will continue to need those who share their testimony concerning the new and eternal life he offers.
Of course, all of this has application, not only for the ordained among us, but for all “who believe in the name of the Son of God.” We believe in an apostolic church, all of the members of which are sent into the world, each one bearing witness to the resurrection. The divine sending which begins with the Father sending the Son for the salvation of the world continues, extended through the apostles, through the ordained, through every believer until “all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God” (Psalm 98:4).
Look It Up
Read the Prayers for the Candidates from the baptismal liturgy (BCP, p. 305), considering how apostleship is to be exercised in the ministry of the baptized.
Think About It
What particular gift did God send to your community when your priest was called to serve in that locale? How has this gift influenced you in a way that encourages you to be a more effective witness to Christ?
Next Sunday
The Day of Pentecost (Whitsunday), June 4, 2006
BCP: Acts 2:1-11 or Isaiah 44:1-8; Psalm 104:25-37 or 104:25-32 or Psalm 33:12-15, 18-22; 1 Cor. 12:4-13 or Acts 2:1-11; John 20:19-23 or John 14:8-17.
RCL: Acts 2:1-21 or Ezek. 37:1-14; Psalm 104:24-35, 37b; Rom. 8:22-27 or Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15.
