Unknown Apostles, Pastor Joshua Noah - May 17, 2015

May 17, 2015

Unknown Apostles

Pastor Joshua Noah

Here we are, with the eleven remaining disciples – now deemed Apostles by Christ, in this awkward time between the Ascension and Pentecost. Jesus has left the earth – just suddenly lifted up into the sky – but not before he tells the Apostles to wait. Wait until they receive power from on high.

So what do the Apostles do? They do what any people would do, they grow impatient and get to work right away. People are not good at waiting. Just ask anyone waiting in a doctor’s office. And anyone who has ever waited for God to act, waiting is simply impossible. Because time doesn’t pass for God like it does for us. And because time is flexible, it always passes by much more slowly when you are waiting on something, yet seems to fly away when you are having fun.

So like good Presbyterians, the impatient apostles form the first ANC – Apostle Nominating Committee. And together they begin composing their AIF – Apostle Information Form.

On their form, they list the following requirements to be their next apostle: 1) the person must know Jesus personally from the time of his baptism till his ascension, 2) the person must be a witness to the resurrection, and 3) the person must be a man. Yes, a man. Despite the fact that the women who followed Jesus were the ones who did all the cooking and the cleaning. Despite the fact that the women were the ones who financially supported Jesus’ ministry. Despite the fact that the women were the only ones who never abandoned Jesus – even following him all the way to his crucifixion at Calvary while all the male disciples scurried away in fear. Despite the fact that the women were the first ones to proclaim the gospel message that, “The tomb is empty! Jesus is alive!” Despite all that, maleness was a requirement to be the next apostle. Perhaps the apostles were not such good Presbyterians after all.

So the apostles post their AIF and the search for candidates who meet the requirements begins – reading over the 120 Disciple Information Forms that came their way. Two candidates are found – Joseph (who also goes by the name Barsabbas and sometimes Justus) and Matthais. So the ANC is stuck choosing between these two candidates. Both seem equally qualified. Both personally knew Jesus. Both walked with Jesus. Both witnessed to the resurrection. Both are men! How does the ANC – the 11 remaining Apostles – know which person to choose to be the next Apostle? The person who is to be sent out to witness to Christ’s resurrection to all of the world. The person who is to grow the Kingdom of God and share the faith of following Jesus Christ. The person upon whose shoulders the work of Christ is to continue? Not knowing of any better way to choose the right person, the Apostles prayed to Christ – understanding that only Christ truly knows the hearts of all people – and they roll the dice! They cast lots. And the lot falls on Matthais – making him the newest Apostle and restoring them to back to their rightful number of Twelve. All is good with the world.

And yet…that is the last time we ever hear of Matthais. Never again is the name Matthais mentioned in scripture. Neither do we hear of Jospeh/Barsabbas/Justus. There are later Church traditions that speak of Matthais’ life outside of the scriptures. There are even mentions of a lost Gospel of Matthais throughout church history. But we never hear of Matthais again. Of course, there are a LOT of Jesus’ followers who are never mentioned by name – especially the women. And yet, the gospel spreads throughout the world, not just because of the actions of the Twelve, of those who actually get their name in scripture. The gospel message spreads – and the Christian faith grows throughout the world – because of so many unknown apostles of Jesus Christ.

She was born in 1930 – one of 17 children of a Southern Baptist minister and his wife in rural Alabama. She literally grew up in the church – spending days on end in the church helping with church events, attending Sunday School classes, listening to her father give sermon after sermon. As she grew older, graduated high school, and got married, being a follower of Christ was at the center of her identity. Having Christ in her life was important because of the many struggles she faced early in her married life – her husband fought in the Korean Conflict while she lived along with her children in San Antonio, Texas – a two day bus ride away from her nearest family. After the conflict, as her husband’s health deteriorated from diabetes – a diagnosis he received upon entering the military – she had to work multiple jobs to support her family of three children – working mostly as a cake decorator in a local bakery. When her husband died almost 30 years ago, she managed to keep going on because of her faith in Christ. More than anything, she was unafraid and unashamed to let others know that she was a follower of Jesus. She had known Jesus personally since the day of her own baptism. She continually witnessed to the power of Jesus’ resurrection – especially the power of forgiveness that comes from the resurrection. As such, she taught her own children and grandchildren the importance of forgiveness. Of loving and forgiving others, even when they hurt you.

We often forget about these people. These unknown apostles. We forget about them because we encounter them every day. In our day-to-day lives. As we run our errands. As we shop in the grocery store. As we sit at the lunch counter at the diner. They are neighbors, teachers, waitresses, cashiers, sales clerks, friends, even relatives. We don’t always think about the ways in which they have shared the Gospel with us, because they often do so through their actions – through their unconditional love, their great generosity, and their radical hospitality.

The unknown apostle of our story always modeled unconditional love, great generosity, and radical hospitality. When she retired from the bakery, though she made very little, she made sure that every one of her family and friends had what they needed first – new clothes, tuition for school, sometimes even food, formula, and diapers. And she always tithed her 10% to her church. People of all ages were welcome in her home. Whenever her grandchildren spent the night, they slept on a pallet of blankets on the floor beside her bed. And she would recite with them the bedtime prayer that she taught them, “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” She never turned anyone away, and even raised one of her own grandchildren. Her grace and mercy earned her the respect of all generations among her family and friends. And when her youngest granddaughter became pregnant as a teenager, the girl didn’t go to her own mother first – out of fear of judgment and shame – she went to her grandmother first, knowing that she would receive unconditional love. And love her unconditionally her grandmother did, along with the great-grandson that arrived soon afterward.

These unknown apostles often taught us more about faith than any preacher or bible study ever did. They taught us the faith of Jesus Christ not just with words, but with their very lives! They showed us that faith and good works are connected. That good works are a joyful response to the gift of grace offered to us freely through Jesus Christ. And they taught us how to live out that faith by living it themselves. They taught us to pray by praying for us when that’s all they could do. They taught us to be generous by being generous to us when we need it the most. They taught us the importance of grace by showing us grace when we deserved nothing but judgment. They taught us how to love by loving us when we were completely unlovable.

For one grandchild, this unknown apostle demonstrated the power of Christ to transform lives. Her grandson struggled with his faith throughout much of his young life. As a young adolescent, he felt the Southern Baptist Church he attended was full of judgment and hypocrisy. Eventually walking away from the church, and from God altogether. But she stuck by him in his faith struggles. Never passed judgment upon him. Never told him he was wrong. Never told him that he was condemned to hell if he didn’t believe. She just continued to show him the love and faith that Christ has always shown her all her life. And most importantly, she prayed for him constantly. Eventually, her grandson met an amazing woman in college – a Presbyterian elder – with whom he would share stories of faith and doubt. A woman he later married. They had children together. At 26, he was baptized, along with his newborn son, and joined his wife’s home Presbyterian church. As time went on, the unknown apostle’s grandson would feel the Holy Spirit’s call to ministry, go to seminary, and eventually end up the pastor of a small town church in Missouri called Grace Presbyterian Church. This unknown apostle of Christ is named Katherine McCullars, but I just call her Nana, and her once lost grandson stands before you today as your next pastor. A lost soul who found his way back to the faith thanks to the power of Jesus Christ through the witness of unknown apostles.

Rarely do we read about these unknown apostles in the newspaper or in books or on our Facebook feeds. Rarely do we hear about these unknown apostles on the television or the radio. And we never read about these unknown apostles in the scriptures – because frankly nearly all of them lived after the time the scriptures were written. Yet how do we know about them? How do we know that these apostles even exist? We know them because we wouldn’t be sitting here today without them! We know them because we probably still have a relationship with them. We know them because we still hear their words within our hearts. When we face difficult times, periods of change, moments of uncertainty, the words of these apostles and the way they lived their Christian faith surfaces within the memories of our hearts. They remind us not only of our faith in God, but of God’s faith in us. That God sent Christ into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. That we are part of the God’s great plan to bring about the Kingdom into the here and now. That by the Holy Spirit, we can live in the hope that God always has a greater plan for us. That even when we journey through life’s dark valleys, we are never alone, for Christ walks alongside us – weeping with us when we cry, comforting us when we are lost, rejoicing with us when we emerge on the other side.

It makes me wonder. I wonder who are the unknown apostles in your life? I wonder how they taught you the faith of Christ? I wonder who is the voice that speaks in the memory of your heart when you struggle? Let’s take some time to wonder about that. And then let’s share some stories of unknown apostles. Of people through whom God worked to bring you here today. Who has a story about the influence of an unknown apostle in their life….and everyone has a story. Our lives are composed of stories!

 

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers^[a] (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, ¹⁶ “Friends,^[b] the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— ¹⁷ for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”

²¹ So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” ²³ So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take the place^[a] in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” ²⁶ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

 

Luke 24:44-53

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶ and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah^[a] is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses^[b] of these things.⁴⁹ And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.^[c] 52 And they worshiped him, and^[d] returned to Jerusalem with great joy; ⁵³ and they were continually in the temple blessing God.^[e]