No Small Parts - Matthias
November 22, 2020 Sunday Evening Study

Last week we discussed this idea of what it is like to not be chosen - to be the one passed over, and how that can often cause hurt and discouragement. The lesson was that often God keeps us from one venture so as to free us up for something greater - something for His glory instead of our own. Interestingly enough, I was preparing an oral presentation on a historical figure who underwent much of the same type of ordeal - Columba, the patron saint of Scotland who after being nearly excommunicated from the church in Ireland traveled to Scotland and was responsible for evangelizing the entire Pictish nation in the north - a worthy calling if ever there was one.

Yet, we can’t forget that sometimes we are the chosen one in a situation. I can think of several occasions where I was chosen for a job and I wish perhaps God had been saving me something else - but at least the choosing felt good. Yet, the fact of the matter is that being chosen is not always all it’s cracked up to be either, especially when being chosen means that you must go to great personal sacrifice to fulfill your new purpose.

Back when we lived in Arizona and I was still fairly young in my IT career, I had a job with a digital rights management, or DRM company. This was a software company that would take music and movie discs that would be sold and would apply software to them that would prevent them from being copied - it was an anti-piracy company. As many of you know, piracy is not only an extremely lucrative business with media and software, it is also something that almost everyone does who knows how - a crime committed as often as speeding in our world.

I worked as the customer support agent for this company - the only one. Basically, I was the punching bag. Everyone hated our software - everyone. Most people hated the fact that it even existed. Customers hated that they couldn’t copy CDs that they had purchased, artists hated that the software gave them a reputation for being greedy, even though it was really designed to prevent theft for their own sake. Even I hated the software, largely because I agreed with everyone else about the inconvenience. I spent my days with non-stop abuse, although I really didn’t care - I went into the job knowing what it was and did not let it affect me.

Part of the process of our everyday work was that we would get a music album or a movie before it was released, we would apply our software to a master disc, and then it was up to our tester to thoroughly test that master for any glitches - either in the software itself or, most importantly - to make sure that the software did not affect the audio or video in any adverse way. We had a lady who was the tester on both sides - audio and software, and I thought she had what must be the greatest job anyone could ever want. She listened to hit music months before it was released, played with audio gadgets and worked in a sound-proof room for most of her day. For an aspiring musician, it was like a dream in my eyes.

Then one day, our company got sued. My boss brought in an audio recording and had me listen to a clip, and I immediately heard a major audio distortion in the clip that lasted over 20 seconds. It was a little subtle, but I spotted it immediately because it affected the drum track. I was asked to report my findings officially. That same day the tester was fired. It turned out that this glitch was on a release by a band called the Foo Fighters - and this album ended up going multi-platinum with a 20 second audio glitch in the number one hit. 

From that day on I was the new tester. And here is where I learned the dirty little secret about the job I so coveted - I had to listen to EVERYTHING that came in. This included all genres, including horribly offensive rap and hip hop, country western (really not my style,) and even polka at one point. But it got so much worse than that - when our company started working on protecting movies to help recoup the expenses from the music lawsuit, I was a part of the software development. We had the rights to one movie for testing - Grease.

Let me say that I have never been a fan of Grease. Having watched it 4 times a day for 7 months - mind you, paying very close attention for audio or video glitches - I can say that I believe that movie is the true bane of my existence. I learned the truth of what it meant to be chosen in that sense, and it was certainly not all I had hoped for.

Please open your Bibles to Acts 1:20-26. If you were able to join last week online, we read this same passage and talked about the man who was not chosen - Joseph Barsabbas Justus, and we discussed his life separated from the disciples. Tonight we will discuss the one who was chosen - Matthias - and see what we can glean from his life following this casting of lots. Read Passage.

Like Justus last week, there is no other mention of Matthias anywhere in the New Testament. In fact, there is much speculation as to who this man may actually be. He is said to have been, like Justus, with Jesus from His baptism to His ascension, and was considered qualified to become one of the leading twelve disciples. Yet, since there is no other mention of him, even his name is called into question.

Church historian Eusebius the bishop of Caesarea who was instrumental in the cannonization of the New Testament during the time of Constantine called Matthias Tolmai - the Syriac interpretation of his name. Clement of Alexandria refers in his writing to Zacchaeus (the wee-little man) in such a way as to possibly identify him with this man Matthias. Others have identified him with Barnabas - though Paul refers to Barnabas throughout his letters. Many modern scholars actually believe he is Nathanael - the disciple we recently studied in John who was one of the first to follow Jesus alongside Philip. 

Most of what is believed about Matthias’ ministry comes from Greek tradition, but the details of that ministry, if accurate, lead to some of the greatest titans of the faith throughout the history of Christianity. It is said that he began his ministry in Judaea with the other disciples, but then moved into areas within what is now Georgia. It is said that in the Georgian region of Adjara he was stoned to death by “the city of the cannibals” of Aethiopia and is buried among the ruins of a Roman fortress.

However, during his ministry, he is said to have planted the seeds of faith within Cappadocia near the Caspian Sea. If you are familiar at all with history from that region, some of the most powerful and revered early church leaders came from there - the “Mighty Cappadocians” who included Basil the Great (330–379), who was bishop of Caesarea; Basil's younger brother Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395), who was bishop of Nyssa; and a close friend, Gregory of Nazianzus (329–389), who became Patriarch of Constantinople. These Cappadocian Fathers were champions of Nicene orthodoxy - the doctrine where we get “The Apostles Creed” of today, basically establishing the doctrine of the Trinity, Jesus as fully God and fully man - basically the foundations for much of what we believe today. Matthias was said to have ignited the fire of faith in that region - effects we still feel today.

There exist fragments of writing that are called the “Lost Gospels of Matthias” which are said to have been written by Matthias, as well as a writing called “Traditions of Matthias” though many believe one to be a part of the other. This Gospel is lost, but Clement of Alexandria in his writings, quotes a sentence ascribed to Matthias urging asceticism: "we must combat our flesh, set no value upon it, and concede to it nothing that can flatter it, but rather increase the growth of our soul by faith and knowledge". The Gospel of Matthias was mentioned by Origen of Alexandria; by Eusebius, who attributes it to heretics; by Jerome, and others which declare it apocryphal - meaning that it is not inspired by God but still of value.

Matthias was officially venerated as a saint in the 11th century. His feast day was originally celebrated on February 24th, but after the revision of the general ROman Calendar in 1969, it was moved to May 14th to better coincide with Easter celebrations and place his feast day closer to when it is traditionally believed he became a disciple as part of the twelve.

It is claimed that St Matthias the Apostle's remains were brought to Italy through Empress Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine I (the Great); part of these relics would be interred in the Abbey of Santa Giustina, Padua, and the remaining in the Abbey of St. Matthias, Trier, Germany. This is, as I mentioned, in contradiction to Greek sources, who claim that the remains of the apostle are buried in the Roman ruins of Gonio-Apsaros, Georgia.

Last week we talked a lot about how being the one not chosen can have its benefits beyond what we can imagine. I do not want to frame our lesson on Matthias as being chosen leads to bad things - quite the opposite. God had plans for both of these men, and both of them were obedient to God’s direction when it was placed upon them. Matthias may have felt the pride of being chosen, but he immediately had to get to work - this was no honorary title. To be one of the twelve meant that you would be relied upon above all others, and likely, as history showed, to die in an unpleasant way as a result of your faith.

The lesson here is that the circumstances of the world do not guide our calling. Matthias was no greater a man than Justus, and their legacies are very similar. Both are venerated as saints, both had ministries with far-reaching effects, and both were considered devout and faithful until the end. Chosen or not - the call is to obedience, and to radiate His glory and not our own.