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| And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles. Acts 1:26 |
Easter 7 in Year B – 17 May 2015
Marks of Discipleship: Prayer
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas
+ INJ +
As we continue to focus on the Marks of Discipleship, I’m using the lesson from Acts as
my sermon text to talk about prayer today because this lesson gives us insight
into how the very first followers of Jesus discerned God’s will – using prayer
and a roll of the dice.
This story from Acts is all about
the very first organizational meeting of the Church. These followers of Jesus –
the apostles – have just watched Jesus ascend into heaven. They return to
Jerusalem, and they devote themselves to prayer, waiting for whatever it is
that God has next for them.
Out of this prayer time, they
discern a need. Jesus had lots of followers, but he had twelve disciples with
whom he had a special relationship. These twelve were with Jesus constantly
during his earthly ministry, and yet one of those twelve betrayed Jesus, and
was no longer part of their group. So this first group of Jesus followers
discerns a need to fill that place that has been vacated – to find someone to
round out the number to twelve yet again.
Why twelve? That number represents
the twelve tribes of Israel. To this community of mostly Jewish men and women,
it’s a number of completeness – to have only eleven would feel incomplete to
them. Twelve is the number that means that all is right with the world.
So we hear about the first church
election: Two names are put forth – two people we don’t read about by name in
the stories of Jesus: Justus and Matthias. Even though we don’t know them, they
are obviously well known to this community, and they are known as people who
have been with Jesus throughout his ministry.
The election process is quite
simple: “…they prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which
one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry...’ And
they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the
eleven apostles.”[1]
They cast lots, which means they
rolled the dice - or at least something similar to dice – to make this
decision. Casting lots is an ancient method for making decisions. It sounds a
bit crazy to us – would you call a pastor by flipping a coin?
And yet, the important part of the
story is not that they cast the lots to make this decision. The important part
of the story comes before they cast
the lots: “…they prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us
which one of these two you have chosen…”
Their prayer is for God to reveal God’s
will to them – to find out which one God
has chosen.
Their prayer is not for their own
wills to be done – or for their favorite to win the election. Their prayer is
for God’s will to be done – which means
setting aside their own hopes and fears for what lies ahead.
Discerning God’s will is one of the
biggest questions that we humans have. If you go to any Christian bookstore or
poke around the Christian living section on Amazon, you’ll find all kinds of
books that claim to be able to help you find God’s perfect will for your life.
These authors have hit a goldmine because they know that so many of us struggle
with the simple question: What is God’s will?
We may ask God again and again for
an answer to this question. We may feel like we never receive a clear answer,
or we may know that we’ve heard clearly what God’s will is. But setting aside
our own hopes and fears is an essential step in prayer. Can we see ourselves,
like those first disciples, rolling the dice or casting those lots, leaving our
questions and the answers in God’s loving hands?
Martin
Luther wrote about prayer extensively. In his Small Catechism, when writing
about the Third
Petition of the Lord’s Prayer – the part that says, “Thy will
be done, on earth as it is in heaven”
Luther said that “God’s good and
gracious will comes about without our prayer, but we ask…that it
may also come
about in and among us.”
Prayer changes us. Prayer helps us
to see that our will and God’s will may not be the same. Prayer helps us see
that God’s vision may be so much bigger (or smaller) than what our vision is.
Prayer helps us see how great is the love the Father has given to us, that we
may be called the children of God – for that is what we are.[2]
There was a saying that was popular
among Christians when I was in high school and college: “Let go and let God.”
It’s a short, easy-to-remember phrase that is a helpful reminder to us that not
all things are in our control. But if we think about God’s will being formed in
and among us whenever we pray, then this phrase takes on a different meaning.
When we pray, we let go of our bad
attitudes. When we pray, we let go of our harmful prejudices. When we pray, we
let go of overwhelming fear and doubt. When we pray, we let God shape his will
within and among us.
All of us face challenges, or
questions, or tough decisions from time to time. Maybe you are burdened with
one (or more) of those this morning. Let us pray for those concerns now:
Lord, you know everyone’s heart.
Shape your will in us and among us, and help us to hear your voice. Where we
are lost, find us. Where we are confused, clear our minds. Where we cannot make
a difficult decision, give us the strength we need to act. Remind us of your
great love for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
+ SDG +
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