The Seventh Sunday of Easter – B – May 12, 2024
We return to the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles this week, to the choosing of Judas Iscariot’s successor. There are a few things to note about this passage.
First, by ensuring there would be twelve named apostles carrying out Christ’s mission, Luke shows that in the Christian community, Israel and its twelve tribes are restored. Although the number twelve is significant for both Jews and Christians, this passage is a good reminder that Jesus had many more than twelve followers; the reading mentions 120 gathered there to choose from.
A disciple orients their life completely to Christ, for they know he is active in every part of it.
So we need not take the number twelve literally in our ritual imagination, especially when choosing how many people will have their feet washed on Holy Thursday, noting that the Roman Missal makes no mention of the number of people for that ritual.
Second, there’s a typo in the USA Lectionary at Acts 1:23. The Lectionary names one of the proposed choices to be “Judas called Barsabbas.” But in the actual passage in the Bible, he is named “Joseph.”
Text aside, the most significant element in this reading is how the apostles discerned. First they proposed two choices, then they prayed, and finally they followed supernatural inspiration as a direct outcome of their prayer. A disciple orients their life completely to Christ, for they know he is active in every part of it.
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