Following in the Footsteps of Judas

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Trinity Episcopal Church
44 East Market St.
Bethlehem PA 18018-5989
610-867-4741

Mother Laura's homily on the occasion of
THE 55TH ANNIVERSARY OF
FATHER MAC'S ORDINATION
February 24, 2001

Following in the Footsteps of Judas

I don't usually publish my sermons, but I'm making an exception in this case-not because it's such a great sermon, but because Fr. Mac and his service to us are great!
--Mother Laura

Acts 1:15-26; Psalms 15;
Philippians 3:13b-21; John 15:6-16
In the name of the Father (+) and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I'm not really sure if I'm supposed to be giving a roast of Fr. Mac or a eulogy. After all, how many times in your life are you invited to attend-let alone preach-at the 55th anniversary of someone's ordination? If I get to celebrate my 55th, I'll be 94!

And St. Matthias? Fr. Mac, why couldn't you have been ordained on a day that makes it easy to preach about the priesthood, like St. Thomas of Canterbury? Or the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth, which was when I was ordained? What am I supposed to say in an anniversary homily about the apostle who had to follow in the footsteps of Judas Iscariot, and of whom a very questionable legend says he was beheaded? Or another that he was crucified?

As I was reading the lesson from Acts, all I could hear were the voices of the Wednesday morning Eucharist congregation saying that this was a Stephen King homily. They set you up to this, didn't they, Fr. Mac?

I really wasn't trying to be a stand-up comedian when I mentioned following in the footsteps of Judas Iscariot. As a matter of fact, I don't usually give titles to my homilies, but that's what the title of this one would be: Following in the Footsteps of Judas Iscariot. I wonder what that was like for St. Matthias? The only thing we know about him is that he was with Jesus from the beginning-from his baptism by John-through his Resurrection and Ascension. What would it have been like to be called to take the place of the arch-traitor Judas? He wasn't even chosen unanimously or by acclamation-he was chosen through the drawing of lots. And that is all we ever hear in Holy Scripture about Matthias. Wonder how he felt the first time he sat down in Judas' accustomed seat? Wonder what it was like the first time the Twelve were introduced after his election? Did he hear, "And this is our newest Apostle, Matthias. He replaced Judas, you know, whose guts are all over the field out there." Did he ever get tired of being introduced as the one who took over from Judas? Did he ever get sick of being pointed out as the one following in the footsteps of wicked Judas? Did people ever begin to wonder if maybe some of that darkness hadn't rubbed off on him? Or did they whisper that after Judas, anybody-even ole' Matthias--would look good?

Or did people remember that even though he wasn't part of Jesus' inner circle, Matthias still followed his Master everywhere? Did people remember that Matthias wasn't like those other disciples-Peter who had such an awful temper, or James and John who were always jockeying for power, not only in this life, but even in the next, and that Thomas who would never take anything at face value. That Jesus fella sure didn't know much about picking associates, did he? Was Matthias horrified to be dragged into the limelight when he only wanted to be one of the followers, as he had been all along? Wonder what it was like to have to follow in the footsteps of Judas?

Does this sound like a strange meditation for the anniversary of an ordination? Maybe. But I am aware that in our Christian lives we are always following in somebody else's footsteps. We aren't called to break new ground. We aren't charged with writing a new Gospel. We don't have as our goal the invention of some stunning, world-shaking revelation. We are called to be Matthiases: faithful followers, prepared to do whatever work it is Christ needs us to.

What did the author of Acts say about him? "We need a witness to Christ's resurrection. We need someone to take a place in this ministry and apostleship." 55 years ago, Fr. Mac agreed to follow in St. Matthias' footsteps. As he was ordained, he became a witness to Christ's resurrection and he took his place in the ministry, which had been created over the last two thousand years.

I am very aware of Judas' notoriety. Even people who don't believe in Christ know who Judas was and what he did. His name has entered into the idioms of many languages: "Oh, he's a real Judas." Did you ever hear anyone say admiringly, "Oh my, what a Matthias!" Judas appears in all four Gospels. His name is scattered through the rest of the New Testament. He is mentioned by name about 25 times. On the contrary, Matthias never appears in the Gospels at all and is mentioned only twice, both times in this passage. Doesn't seem very fair, does it? That what we remember is terrible betrayal instead of long faithfulness?

Now, since Fr. Mac was brave enough to let me preach, I'm going to get personal. In Mac's 55 years, he has done some wonderful things. He marched with Martin Luther King; he served as secretary for the 1979 Commission that authored our current Prayer Book; he has held offices for years in the international Clan MacMillan; he pastored several parishes and mentored young people as they entered the priesthood-mentored some of us older folks, too, I expect. He raised some pretty cool kids-and Trinity Bethlehem is the beneficiary of that in Liz Miller. He has prayed the office literally tens of thousands of times and has offered the Eucharist thousands of times. At age 80, he is still responding to God's call, and is teaching both here and in Mexico. I'm sure that later on this evening you'll hear still more stories.

But for all of the many wonderful things Mac has done over the years, he will never be as famous to most of the world as Judas is. No, with his life, Fr. Mac has done a Matthias.

What does Jesus tell us in the Gospel? Not just tell us clergy, but ALL of us? "You are my friends if you do what I command you. And this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last."

Any of us who know Fr. Mac even slightly can say with resounding certainty that his ministry has borne lasting fruit. And we can say that he tries with all his might to embody Christ's love. It might even be possible to say that Fr. Mac has gone Judas one better. In keeping Christ's commandments, he is Christ's friend-not, I think, something that can be said of Judas.

Of course, Mac is not perfect, any more than any of us or any of the disciples were perfect. We all have our Judas moments, when we betray Christ. We all walk in Judas' footsteps in that sense, too. Probably Matthias deserted Christ, as did most of the other disciples, when he was taken away to be crucified. But we know that he repented and turned back to his faith because Scripture tells us he was one of the witnesses to the Resurrected Christ.

Faithfulness over the long haul-that's what we remember about St. Matthias-not his peccadilloes, not what his profession was, just that he loved his Lord enough to follow him for years and serve him, whether he had a chance for the limelight or not. Actually, I can hardly think of a better job description for a Christian.

So, Fr. Mac, may your priesthood continue on as it has for the past 55 years-following in the footsteps of St. Matthias. As the Russians say, many years, many years, God grant you many years.

Amen.

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Trinity Episcopal Church
44 East Market St.
Bethlehem PA 18018-5989
610-867-4741