Thursday May 14 readings

The first is typically cited among Catholics as illustrating that the apostolic office was intended to be passed down:

Acts 1:15-17, 20-26

Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters
(there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons
in the one place).
He said, "My brothers and sisters,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled
which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand
through the mouth of David, concerning Judas,
who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.
Judas was numbered among us
and was allotted a share in this ministry.
For it is written in the Book of Psalms:

Let his encampment become desolate,
and may no one dwell in it.
and:
May another take his office.

Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men
who accompanied us the whole time
the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
beginning from the baptism of John
until the day on which he was taken up from us,
become with us a witness to his resurrection."
So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas,
who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
Then they prayed,
"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
from which Judas turned away to go to his own place."
Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias,
and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles.

Jn 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
"As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments
and remain in his love.

"I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another."

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been making the time to read the daily readings every day. Thanks for inspiring me to try and bring that back into my daily exercises.

Being a little out of touch with the context of the readings, I will share my visceral reaction to what you provided. As an aside, when I do stay disciplined and read the daily readings every day, I find I have a better sense of the message that is actually trying to be conveyed. But I suspect that the Holy Spirit can still help a soul discern a relevant meaning to a person like me that has fallen out of practice.

As I read the first reading, I get a feeling of empathy for Judas. I feel sorry for him in a way that he closed his heart to God when he betrayed Jesus in the Garden. I think of how many times I have acted in a way that has had a similar effect of closing that door. By the grace of God I am relieved that I had a subsequent opportunity to reconcile that relationship with God. It is not written in the bible, but I hope for Judas’ sake he had an opportunity to reconcile that relationship before it was too late.

The Gospel seems to pair well with the first reading. It makes it very clear how we can avoid choosing the path that Judas took. It seems very simple the way that it is stated. In any given moment it sounds doable. But when I think about maintaining that state of grace for a lifetime it begins to feel overwhelming. In a way, I imagine Heaven being a time when there will be an absence of any pressures or temptations to fall from that grace.

The other aspect of the Gospel reading that I appreciate is the distinction that is made between friend and slave, in our relationship with God. It emphasizes nicely the choice that we and God have over the course of our lives.

Peace to you.

I agree, it can certainly seem overwhelming when considered over a lifetime. I guess it really comes down to a minute by minute choice; I fail at this, say, one out of three minutes, I think.

When reading the gospel this time, I was struck by this: "I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete."

The point of it all--is joy. How amazing! That that should be the centerpiece of our existence, what God wants for us--how wonderful!

Mathis got chosen by lot? Is that like sooting craps?

Anyway, I think it was CCR2 who mentioned empathy for Judas. Funny, I always wonder about Judas. He obviously felt bad because he hung himself. I also wonder about Jesus saying, "For the one who betrays me, it would be better if he had never been born."

OK. If Judas was contrite, do you think he was forgiven?

Also, the entire betrayal and crucifiction is like grumsome play that could not be changed. Jesus knew Judas would betray him. In normal circumstances, if you had a friend who was going to something stupid, you would try to stop him. But without Judas betrayal, there is no crucifiction.