Irondequoit Catholic Communities
7th Sunday Of Easter B

Celebrating 100 years

Return to Cycle Index

Cycle B

B217: Why would the apostles use a game of chance, a form of "gambling," to select their successors (in this case, to replace the Apostle Judas, as in Acts 1:26)? Where is God in this?

It surely does seem like an unusual way to select a Church leader! But we need to understand the cultural setting for this type of thinking that was "normal" many centuries ago. Drawing straws or flipping a coin wouldn't fit our modern mentality when it comes to choosing presidents or popes.

There are many scriptural examples of "tossing the dice" (casting lots) to answer or solve problems, including the one in our First Reading today. They even "cast lots" for Jesus' cloths, after he was crucified (Jn 19:24). In many cases the Old Testament shows this method was used to assign duties or take actions that did not really require investigation or special discernment (e.g., Judges 20:9; Joel 4:3).

Scripture scholar Fr. John McKenzie says that the use of "lots" in choosing a successor for Judas implies two beliefs about the office of Apostle: that the number 12 should be maintained, and that the selection of the man must come from God. Since the "candidate" disciples were already humbly living the Gospel, living in Christ, there was no need to "campaign" for the office; both were qualified by those dispositions. So the group showed that they believed in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, even by "drawing lots," because not one of the candidates was "of the world" as our gospel today describes it (Jn 17:16). Thus the selection by lot, in the eyes of the believing community and after prayer for guidance, would indeed be "made by God" not by chance.

It would be good to check our own faith against the faith of this early community described in the Acts of Apostles. We are not suggesting an abdication of our responsibilities, nor are we avoiding the need to discern spiritual matters carefully. What we are suggesting is a greater trust in God, reflected in the way we pray and our willingness to surrender to God's will in all things.

Know Your Catechism! It takes great humility to surrender to God daily. You will know you are humble like the saints when you cease worrying or being troubled about "things" (so Thomas Merton). Perhaps we need to be reminded that true humility is the very foundation of prayer (CCC #2559).

Out of the World?

When Curtis and Kathleen Saville paddled into Antigua on June 10, 1981, they broke the 1896 record for rowing across the Atlantic by six hours. As they described it in Smithsonian, their craft "Excalibur" was a pretty sophisticated carrier; still it qualified as a row boat because it was propelled by oars and brawn. During the crossing the little boat was very much alone in the great ocean. The Savilles were pestered by the fear that Hurricane Arlene would come their way; and one day the Spanish freighter "Atlantico" almost ran them down.

Though visually and spatially cut off from people, they kept human contact by radio. However, radio newscasts proved to be a mixed blessing. The solitude of the ocean had its charms: the "wet desert" was simple, fresh, and mercifully free of crime and violence. "We listened," they said, "to the BBC, the Voice of America - all sorts of stations. We heard when President Reagan was shot, when the Pope was shot, when the president of Bangladesh was assassinated - and sometimes wondered why we were rowing so hard to get back to civilization."

At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed that His Father would protect his disciples. They belonged to the world no more than He Himself did, meaning the worldly world of injustice, cruelty, violence. Still, the people in the world had to hear the truth, so he had to leave the apostles among them. As ocean voyagers have to steer towards port despite the sea's enchantment, and astronauts have to return to earth from the stirring loneliness of space, so the Twelve had to leave the Upper Chamber and mingle again in a world of imperfect men. The important thing for all who have come close to God is that they not let the evil world again contaminate them. That is why Christ prayed for his messengers, "I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to guard them from the evil one." (John 17:15. Today's gospel.)

-Father Robert F. McNamara

Q373: John says that "No one has ever seen God" (1 Jn 4:11-16). If that is true, how will we recognize Him?

The links between 1 John and John's Gospel are numerous. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us that "Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father" (John 14:9). We recognize in Jesus Christ the manifestation of God's perfect love, a love that is unlimited in scope, a love that is extended to all humankind, a love that is undiminished by our sins.

In the Gospel today (John 17:11-19) Jesus passes on his mission of teaching about the Father's love, and offering/bestowing that love to everyone without exception. The recipients of this mission are the believing disciples - that's you and me! Jesus prays that we remain united in Him, united with love for each other just like the love that Jesus and the Father have for each other! A hard act to follow…but a mandate for us to do so.

If a disciple "picks and chooses" who he will or will not love, then that would be in direct, willful opposition to this mandate from Jesus. To "love everyone" is a commandment, not a suggestion. Even a terrorist or an abortionist need to be loved by us - and they are seemingly two of the most unlovable humans in the world today. Their heinous evil actions are despicable; but we must love them as persons, even though they have severely compromised their dignity as God's creatures. The justice of God demands that they face the consequences of their evil and dehumanizing actions; nevertheless, our obligation to love them is not eliminated.

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Today's readings from both John's gospel and epistle provide an excellent incentive to read Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical Deus Caritas Est ("God is Love" - issued Dec. 25, 2005), especially the first 17 paragraphs. The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God's love, and become imitators of that model of holiness (CCC #458-459).


Page last modified on October 17, 2007, at 10:53 AM