"In Praise of Ordinary Disciples" San Williams, UPC
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Imagine reading the following announcement in the Church Newsletter: “At the regularly stated Session meeting on April 15, the chair of the Worship committee nominated John Doe to replace Jane Smith who has moved to another city. After prayerful deliberation, the nomination was unanimously approved and John Doe was selected to serve on the church Worship Committee. Signed, Clerk of Session.” Not the most exciting bit of news you’ve ever heard, right? Rather it’s just a mundane item of routine church business, which is pretty much what we have in today’s account from Acts. The verses we read this morning offer a brief description of how, after the death of Judas, the disciples went about selecting a replacement for Judas. Two men are nominated—Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. The disciples rolled the dice and Matthias was selected. Okay, so what we’ve got here is a picture of the early church doing a little administrative business. What we’ve got is a change of church leadership involving two obscure men, neither of whom is ever mentioned again. In fact, the single most notable thing about these two is that we know so little about them.
One thing we can say about them, however, is that they have lots of company in the Bible. Have you ever thought about how the Bible is populated with unspectacular people, many of whom aren’t even given a name. I’m thinking of people who played minor roles, who were only briefly mentioned and mostly forgotten. You recall that the 11th chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews has an honor-roll of the faithful: Abraham, Abel, Noah, Jacob and Joseph, Moses, Gideon, David, Samuel and the prophets. Then in verse 35 there are those simply named as “the others”—those who also suffered and were faithful, but whose names are long forgotten.
Shiphrah and Puah are not household names, but they were the Hebrew midwives in Egypt who defied the Pharoah’s orders and refused to kill the male babies. Without their courage, Moses would never have lived to be the hero he became. Briefly mentioned in II Kings are two brave women, Jehosheba and an unnamed nurse who saved the Davidic dynasty from annihilation by Queen Athaliah. There’s the unnamed servant girl who after being captured and made a slave in Naaman’s house, had compassion towards her enemy and convinced Naaman the leper to seek help from the prophet Elisha.
And this list of lesser figures spills over into the New Testament. The Centurion soldier whose faith amazed Jesus. The young boy who gave Jesus the 5 loaves and 2 fishes with which Jesus fed the 5,000. My personal favorite, the dad who desperately wanted his child healed, when asked if he believed, answered, “I believe, help thou my unbelief.” You can probably think of others who are your favorite unsung heroes of the Bible.
Well, the two characters in today’s scripture belong in this litany of ordinary people who, while little is known about them, nevertheless served in some way. The Joseph mentioned in our reading today was so little known that there seems to be some confusion as to what name he had gone by--Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus. We are told that both these men had been with Jesus and the disciples since the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. They had listened to his teachings, followed him on his travels, witnessed his healings, been present at the crucifixion, and were perhaps in the room where the risen Christ appeared. Yet apparently all this time neither one of them had ever done anything that grabbed a headline, or said anything that made it into print. They must have been faithful, the kind people you could count on else the disciples would not have nominated them. Yet, they never had their fifteen minutes of fame, or rose to significant roles of leadership.
So this observation leads me to a thesis: from the beginning the witness to the resurrection has been born from one generation to the next primarily by rank and file disciples, disciples like you and me. While we need and appreciate the Mother Teresas, the Bonhoeffers, the Martin Luther Kings, the Karl Barths and Nelson Mandelas, we also acknowledge and celebrate the ordinary people who have carried the extraordinary gospel from one generation to the next. Every church has its Matthias and its Josephs, without whom the life and ministry of Jesus could not be carried forward.
I recall a few ordinary saints without whom I probably would not be preaching today from this pulpit. Rev. Hubert Bratcher, served my home church when I was a child. Rev. Bratcher was not much of a public speaker as I recall. He spent his whole ministry in the small towns of the Texas Panhandle. There will never be a book written about him, but he had an enormous impact on the direction of my life. One Sunday evening after worship, he put his hand on my shoulder and asked me if I had ever considered the Christian ministry. My grandfather did not have the opportunity to receive a formal education, but he was a self-taught student of the scriptures and inspired in me a love for the Bible. Mrs. Jinky Campbell, the no-nonsense Sunday School teacher from my youth who wouldn’t let us go outside and play volleyball until we had memorized the verses in the Bible that were our lesson for the day. How about you? I’m sure you can recall some of the unsung heroes in your own life.
In his memoir, The Sacred Journey, writer and Presbyterian minister Frederick Buechner described several beloved characters that had helped shape his own sacred journey. He concludes his character sketches with this admonition: “On all Saints’ Day, it is not just the saints of the church that we should remember in our prayers, but all the foolish ones and wise ones, the shy ones and overbearing ones, the broken ones and whole ones, the despots and tosspots and crackpots of our lives who, one way or another, have been our particular fathers and mothers and saints, and whom we loved without knowing we loved them and by whom we were helped to whatever little we may have, or hope to have, of some kind of seedy sainthood of our own.”
You recall the story in Mark’s Gospel about the unnamed woman who burst into the house of Simon the leper, took out her alabaster jar and anointed Jesus with oil. The Jerusalem Bible translates Jesus’ comment about her action with these words: “She has done what was in her power to do.”
So think about what is in your power to do. How can each of us show something of the triumphant love of God in our world? How can we witness to the hope that the resurrection of Jesus gives to us and to the world? How can we serve in a way that shows the love and justice of Jesus Christ? The Holy Spirit is not selective. The Spirit is not dispensed only upon the extraordinary gifted Christians. Rather it the power from God that is at work in each one of us. What is in your power to do? Roscoe Overton, let me ask you a question: Do you have to be a person of exceptional skills, trained in interpersonal relationships to take a shift with the Interfaith Hospitality Network? Craig Deats, can only those trained in construction help build the medical clinic in Mexico this June? Bee Morehead, does one have to have a PhD in Governmental Affairs in order to speak to a legislator about improving healthcare for Texas’ children? God’s spirit has been poured into each one of us, we can each do what is in our power to do.
Well, Joseph called Barsabbas also known as Justus and Matthias aren’t well known Biblical characters. But they were nominated to do what was in their power to carry on the life and ministry of Jesus in their day. Who will be nominated to join the company of witnesses in our day? I nominate John called Raymond also known as Bill. And Mary called Helen also known as Rachel. And David called Henry also known as Bob. And Sybil called Jane also known as….
Friends, we have all been chosen by God to be witnesses to the love of God in Jesus Christ. Let it be said of us that we did what was in our power to do.