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Acts 1:15-26. Peter stands up among the approximately 120 people who are waiting in Jerusalem with the apostles and says that they must replace Judas Iscariot, Jesus' betrayer, so that there will be the full number of twelve apostles. Peter says "For he was numbered among us, and was allotted his share in this ministry." As an aside, we are told that Judas bought a field with his blood money and fell there, bursting open so that his bowels poured out, and the field became known as the Field of Blood. Peter goes on to quote David in the Psalms, "Let his habitation become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it", and "his office let another take". Based on this, Peter says one of the men who has been with the apostles and Jesus from the time of His baptism must be chosen to take Judas' place. Two men are put forward - Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias. Then all the people pray, asking the Lord to show them which of the two he has chosen to replace Judas. Then they cast lots and the lot falls to Matthias, who becomes the twelfth apostle.

 

We are often faced with situations in which we feel we must do something, but we are not sure what to do, and when we determine what to do, we are not sure how to do it (or I am, at least 🙂). This passage is extremely helpful in that regard. The first thing we must do is ask ourselves do we have to do something here? In this case, the apostles were down to eleven, and Jesus had chosen twelve. But did Jesus want the apostles to replace Judas? Perhaps He meant there to only be eleven of them at this point. After all, He had come back and not said anything about it. However, the twelve apostles represented the twelve tribes of Israel, so the logical conclusion would be that there should be twelve of them. Peter, wisely, and as we should do, consulted Scripture and prayer for the answer. The Psalms speak to this very situation - "His office let another take." Peter allowed the Holy Spirit, through Scripture, to inform him that action must be taken. Next, Peter tells the others what they must do and he gives his reasoning. Thus, the others would have had an opportunity to discuss the matter if there was any disagreement, which there was not. So when confronted with the, "should I act" question, we learn here that we should discern through prayer, Scripture, and consulting with others who are pursuing the same goal.

 

Once we know we should act, how do we act? Peter was faced with a large pool of people from whom to choose Judas' successor. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and not sure of what to do (which sometimes leads to not doing anything), he set reasonable parameters on who was qualified to fill the position and asked for nominations. (Peter got things done! No wonder he was the first pope!) This is how God wants us to make decisions! God gave us our natural intelligence and abilities to use them in doing His will. Peter used his can-do attitude in conjunction with discernment in order to get an answer to his problem. The universe is limitless, but our valid options can't be or we would never be able to do anything, we would be paralyzed by choice. God guides us in all things, so we must not be afraid to limit our options as we see fit, in order to make a reasonable choice or take a reasonable course of action.

 

Sometimes this is the end of the matter - our choice will become clear once we pray, discern, and use our natural abilities to limit our choices. But sometimes, all of this leads us to two (or more) possibilities, both of which seem good. Our informed discernment has gotten us to the point where we have limited our choices in a reasonable and Spirit-led manner, but now we how do we choose? The answer, Peter shows us, is prayer, and then allowing God to show us the answer. Once Peter's choice is narrowed to Barsabbas and Matthias, he relies entirely on God in prayer. He and the group ask God to show them which of these two men God wants and then, trusting God would show them, they cast lots. Notice that casting lots left the decision entirely in God's hands - there was no room for personal bias or preference.

 

Again, God guides us in all things. If we find ourselves facing a choice between two or more seemingly "right" answers, we must pray and trust that God will show us what He wants, and then give Him the opportunity to do so. When He does, our choice becomes obvious, and we must act on it.

 

(Originally published 12/15/22)