How many of you have seen the movie The Wizard of Oz? How many have seen it more than once? Good! I have a couple of “trivial pursuit” questions for all you Wizard fans. Who played the part of the Tin Woodsman? Jack Haley. Now for the next one. Who, originally, was cast in the role of the Tin Woodsman, but had to quit because he was allergic to the silver paint he had to wear? It was Buddy Ebsen.
Now for your biblical question: for those who aren’t Wizard fans, but who listened closely to the readings for today. A few minutes ago, you heard the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. You heard how two men were proposed for the position of the twelfth apostle, the one who was to replace Judas. The man who was selected was Matthias. My question is: who was the man who didn’t make it? If you were listening real closely, the answer is easy. It was Joseph Barsabbas, also known as Justus.
Here’s another question for you. But it’s not quite as trivial, nor as easy. How do you think Joseph Barsabbas felt when Matthias was selected? Image for a moment. Joseph had been one of the disciples. He, too, had been present at the baptism of Jesus. He, too, listened to him preach. He heard the same stories, saw the same cures. Just like Matthais, Joseph was there when they nailed Jesus to the cross. Joseph saw the risen Lord. He was just as qualified as Matthias, but he wasn’t chosen as an apostle. How did he feel?
Here’s another question for you, an even more important one. How do you feel when you’re not selected? Do you remember the last time you were passed over for a promotion? Or for a merit increase in your salary? Is there a group in your neighborhood you’ve been dying to get into – but they haven’t let you in? Is there a team at school where you didn’t make the cut?
Our American culture has done a very terrible job on us. Our society seems to say I have to be number one. I always need to be a winner. There is no place for second-best. History books record the name of Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong. But who was the second navigator to reach the new world? Who was the second man, or the last one, to touch foot on the moon?
Matthias is called Saint Matthias. When you drive through Magnolia on the way north, you pass St Matthias the Apostle Church. I’ve never heard of St Joseph Barsabbas church. Yet I’d bet Joseph Barsabbas, also known as Justus, was every bit the saint that Matthias was. And why do I believe this? The answer is not an easy one. But the key is in today’s gospel reading.
In today’s passage, we have part of a prayer by Jesus. Oh, it’s not as famous as the “Our Father” we recite all the time. But it is a prayer. It too, begins: “0h Father most holy, protect them with your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” It’s called Jesus’ unity prayer. His desire for us to be one. And in it, he tells his Father, and us, a very amazing thing about his followers, and about us. He says: “They are not of the world, any more than I am of the world.”
Jesus well recognizes the difficulties present in this world. Yet, he does not ask his Father to take his followers out of this world. Instead, he prays to his Father to guard them, to protect them, to give them strength and courage in this world. Jesus never assured his followers life would be easy. He never said they would be selected ahead of anyone else for places of honor in this world. Yet, we tend to believe if we live right, then we should get what we want. This is an attitude that I, myself, need to guard against.
There have been times in my professional career when I’ve not been happy in the job I’m in. And so when this gets to be a major stress point, I start sending resumes to seek employment elsewhere. Much of the time, there’s no response. And when there is, it’s been negative. Over the past twenty-five years, I’ve received some excellent turn-down letters. And these have been the times when I’ve fallen into the trap our society, our culture, has set for us. I judge myself to be second-best. It’s then, that I fear God doesn’t love me, because I’m not chosen, when I think I’m just as qualified as the next guy, and maybe even more qualified!
It’s times like this when I need to reflect on the message in today’s readings. God does not take me from the world, from the trials and tribulations I seem to think surround me. Instead, he gives me the strength to carry on where I am. I need to focus on the fact he continues to love me even when I judge I, myself, am not number one. God is not a football coach making draft selections, he is my loving parent who continues to believe in me, even when I fail to believe in myself.
In his prayer, Jesus said that as his father sent him into the world, so he sends me into the world. We are not only called by God, we are also sent by him. We are sent with a special gift, the gift of his consecration. Jesus has consecrated not only himself, but us too. He has made us holy. That’s what his prayer to his father says: “Consecrate them by means of truth … as you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world; I consecrate myself for their sakes now, that they may be consecrated in truth.” In a few minutes, Father Ed will celebrate the consecration of the Eucharistic bread. But in this celebration, each of us is again consecrated. Together, we all become one in Christ. And being one in Christ means we are all winners.
Perhaps, Buddy Ebsen couldn’t be the Tin Woodsman. Perhaps, Joseph Barsabbas will never have a church named after him. Perhaps, I’ll never get that perfect job in the perfect place I’ve been seeking. But no matter what happens in this world, no matter how many times we are not chosen to perform a special role in this world, we can be absolutely certain God has chosen us. Yes, we are each chosen by God. Each of us is Matthias, the one selected, even when we may believe we are Joseph Barsabbas, the one not chosen. For even when we are not chosen in this world for honors, each of us is selected for a place in the kingdom.
We tend to dwell on our failures in this world, to remember the times we have not been chosen. But consider now those times when you know the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have been with you, when you felt their presence and knew they had gifted you. Rather than dwell on our failures, we must live in our success, our sure knowledge God has chosen each one of us. In the words of the second reading from the Letter of John: “God dwells in us … and we live in him.”
I really do believe Joseph Barsabbas accepted the selection of Matthias as the Twelfth Apostle and was content to remain as one of the many followers of Christ. For this reason, the true, final question is: knowing that we are not always number one in this world, can we be content knowing we have been chosen for the kingdom?
Seventh Sunday of Easter; May 19, 1985
Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 Jn 4:11-16; Jn 17:11b-19