Daily Devotional • August 1
A Reading from Acts 1:15-26
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, 16 “Brothers and sisters, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus, 17 for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out. 19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms,
‘Let his house become desolate,
and let there be no one to live in it’;
and
‘Let another take his position of overseer.’
21 “So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” 23 So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was added to the eleven apostles.
Meditation
For the first time, the apostles must make a decision that before had been solely Jesus’ prerogative: they must choose an apostle. How they performed this task is significant. Peter, in his leadership, declares to the company of the first 120 believers what must be done and why, quotes the psalms (69:25 and 109:8) to show that Judas’ treason was according to Scripture, and sets forth the requirement that Judas’ successor must have personal experience of Jesus’ entire ministry up to the Ascension.
Peter also defines the primary work of an apostle as bearing witness to the resurrection. Then those present come up with the names of two suitable men. But they want to be sure that the ultimate choice is God’s, so they resort to casting lots. Nobody today knows for sure what that was, other than a game of chance like flipping a coin, drawing a name from a hat, or rolling dice.
So human beings control how the decision is made, but they acknowledge that the actual decision must be out of their control so that God’s will may be known and done. This means of deciding is therefore offered to God whom they trust to use it to reveal his will. Accepting such a decision gives evidence of faith in the community that wants to follow God’s will in such times. Many times up to our own day, individuals, congregations, and entire churches want to know God’s will and how to be sure that they have rightly discerned it. But notice that the casting of lots takes place between the Ascension and the day when the Holy Spirit came. There is no evidence that lots were cast after that. Afterwards, decisions were made with words such as, “It seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15:28).
David Baumann served for nearly 50 years as an Episcopal priest in the Dioceses of Los Angeles and Springfield. He has published nonfiction, science fiction, and short stories. Two exuberant small daughters make sure he never gets any rest.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Hong Kong Island – Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui
Church of St. Michael and St. George, Clayton, Missouri