Today, May 14, as our Church celebrates the Feast of Matthias, Apostle, we are invited to reflect on a passage from the Acts of the Apostles (5:12-32), entitled "The apostles in the primitive Church". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily on the Acts of the Apostles by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop.
Saint Matthias, whose name means "gift of God", was the disciple chosen by God through the apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following the latter's betrayal of Jesus and his subsequent death. His calling as an apostle is unique, in that his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already ascended into heaven, and it was also made before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church.. The Acts of the Apostles state that he was also one of the 72 disciples that the Lord Jesus sent out to preach the good news. Matthias was with the Lord since His Baptism, and was "a witness to Christ's Resurrection," according to St. Peter in Acts. He remained with Jesus until His Ascension.
According to various traditions, Matthias preached in Cappadocia, Jerusalem, the shores of the Caspian Sea (in modern day Turkey) and Ethiopia. He is said to have met his death in 80 A.D. by crucifixion in Colchis (modern day Georgia) or by stoning in Jerusalem.
Saint John Chrysostom was an important, fourth century, Early Church Father who served as Archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, and for his denunciation of abuse of authority of both ecclesiastical and political leaders. He was among the most prolific authors in the early Christian church. The word 'Chrysostom' means 'golden-mounted'. This name was given to him after he died because all his sermons were eloquent and lovely to hear.
The Acts of the Apostles, the second volume of Luke's two-volume work, continues Luke's presentation of biblical history, describing how the salvation promised to Israel in the Old Testament and accomplished by Jesus has now under the guidance of the holy Spirit been extended to the Gentiles. This was accomplished through the divinely chosen representatives whom Jesus prepared during his historical ministry and commissioned after his resurrection as witnesses to all that he taught. Luke's preoccupation with the Christian community as the Spirit-guided bearer of the word of salvation rules out of his book detailed histories of the activity of most of the preachers. Only the main lines of the roles of Peter and Paul serve Luke's interest.
