Chosen to be Friends with Him

~~~ Feast of Matthias, Apostle ~~~

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 1:15-17, 20-26 ~~~ Psalm 113 ~~~ John 15:9-17 ~~~

Peter leads the discernment meeting to fill the apostle position

left empty after the betrayal by Judas.

'...it is necessary that one of the men
who accompanied us the whole time
the Lord Jesus came and went among us...'

There were some qualifications in order to even be considered

 to join the Apostle circle.

To be considered the potential candidate had to have witnessed

much of Jesus during his public life.

They also had to witness with the others the resurrection of Jesus.

The two possible candidates Barsabbas and Matthias,

were brought forth and the other apostles prayed.

They prayed for guidance...

'You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,
show which one of these two you have chosen
to take the place in this apostolic ministry...'

The lot fell to Matthias and he was included with the other eleven.

You are my friends

Jesus calls us his friends.

How many friends do you have that would compare

with having Jesus as your friend?

How much time do spend with your best friend?

Compare that to how much time you spend with Jesus.

You might be surprised as to what you find.

Friendships can only last with getting to know one another.

Ignored friendships soon become former friendships.

I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.

Jesus and his relationship with the father is always presented

to us in a very transparent manner.

A master reveals only what the slave needs to know

in order to be a better slave.

A slave does not interact with the master except on a subservient level.

A slave is the property of the master.

A slave has no rights or expectations of behavior on the part of the master.

God wants a relationship with us, even though we could never be his equal.

'It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you...'

 We were each chosen by God just as Jesus chose his apostles.

Even if you believe that you chose Jesus

who do you think put that desire into your heart?

 Yes, God put it there.

The apostles prayed and God chose Matthias to join them.

The Easter Blessing is that you have now also been chosen...

chosen too be a friend to Jesus.

Oh my gosh!