“The full complement”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, July 28, 2022
Acts 1:15-26 (Forward p, 91) CEV p. 1133
Collectors know this feeling well, and so do those engaged in home decorating. One has a whole set of stamps or of coins—or almost. You are missing just one piece to make the whole collection, and it seems bare, empty, incomplete without that one piece. And likewise, with an interior decorator: that wall, that countertop, is missing something, and somehow feels incomplete without that certain picture or object. And, in a somewhat similar fashion, workplace employers often feel that way about staffing. Without certain positions being filled, things don’t seem to be quite right, don’t seem to work as well. Somehow the full complement is needed.
It appears that the earliest apostles felt the same way. Things were not the same, not right, without the full complement of twelve disciples. Without Judas, it was not the same, and so they decided to fill his vacant spot. But it was not to be just anyone. Notice their qualifications: they turn out to be quite exacting, quite stringent:
He has to be a witness to the resurrection of Jesus:
He has to have been with Jesus right from the time He was baptized unto when He was taken up into heaven.
Those are pretty difficult qualifications to meet, but in the end two men were suggested, Justus and Matthias, and when they drew lots, Matthias came out on top.
We are never told just why Jesus choose just twelve people as His apostles, but we can guess. My sense is that He wanted to constitute the New Israel, with a new line of patriarchs to replace the original twelve tribes of Israel. From what I have read, the numeral twelve represents authority and government, so this was to be a new authority, the start of a new form of government, this time for the body of believers called the church.
To me, this says two things: firstly, that people matter, even those who fall away or disappear for one reason or another. Certainly, this is true within the local church. Lose a member and the whole body suffers. And secondly, that government, organization, also matter. People need structure, even in something new and dynamic like the church. It is a mistake and folly to try to manage without it.
All this reminds me that Christianity is, above all else, an incarnational religion, and not just in the sense that Jesus took on human flesh, but also that He uses flesh and blood, people, individuals and groups, to serve His purposes. And, just as the human body has to have organization if it is to work properly, so too does the church have to. And, incredibly, and delightfully, we are each part of that. We are each needed, a fully complement, if things are to work properly. Wow. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Forward notes: “Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas: (verse 16b).
“How striking that between the Great Commission, the Ascension, and Pentecost is this more personal interlude among the disciples. They wonder: who will pick up the work Judas left behind? And between the lines, I read another question: how does any community heal after a profound betrayal of trust?
“Judas, after all, had been there every step of the way. His name is so synonymous with betrayal that I often forget to insert him into all of those stories. He was in the boat watching Peter step out onto the waves. He saw those few fish and loaves feed a multitude. He healed and prayed and taught right alongside his friends.
“To call a new member into the work of the apostles was a small act of bravery—and healing. Just as they had prayed alongside their former friend, they gathered in prayer again, trusting the Holy Spirit to guide their discernment into a new relationship. Some of the hurt caused by Judas would doubtless remain, but this growing community of the resurrection trusted that new life was ahead.”
Moving Forward: “Pray for the healing of a broken relationship.