Festival of St. Matthias, Apostle
After the Ascension of Our Lord, Jesus’ followers at Jerusalem chose Matthias to replace Judas: “And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:26)” Apart from the information given in the first chapter of Acts (vv. 12-26), we know nothing about him. One extra-biblical account says that Saint Matthias was slain by cannibals in Ethiopia; another traditions claims that he was stoned and then beheaded by Jews in Jerusalem. This account lends itself to his customary symbol in religious art: The sword from his beheading is superimposed over a book or scroll representing Holy Scripture.
Scripture Readings for Today
Psalm 134
Isaiah 66:1-2
Acts 1:15-26
Matthew 11:25-30
Prayer
Almighty God, You chose Your servant Matthias to be numbered among the Twelve. Grant that Your Church, ever preserved from false teachers, may be taught and guided by faithful and true pastors; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Pastor McCain -
Thanks for that informative post concerning St. Matthias.
My question concerns apparent changes in form (made by the church some years back?) relating to prayers addressed to God.
When I was a boy, the above prayer would have read: “Almighty God, who chose Your (or His) servant, Matthias, to be numbered among the Twelve, grant that Your Church…” The clause, “who chose…” is partially descriptive of God, to whom the prayer is addressed.
The prayer above, however, “Almighty God, You chose…” seems simply a declarative statement which functions to inform God of what He already knows.
Maybe my bias is just in favor of the collect form of prayer.
In any event, when did this change in addressing God, i.e., telling Him what He did, come about, and why?
Thanks.
Jonathan Trost
ELCA Layman
Jonathan, I don’t know for sure, but more than likely the reason for using clause ‘Lord, you,’ can be found in the pericope for St. Matthias; Acts 1:24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen.” This way of addressing God in prayer is also used in Daniel 9:7. Repeating back to God what God already knows is done when we confess our sins (for God already knows what we have done against Him and our neighbor) and in confessing our faith. As Dr. Nagle put it so well ‘we repeat back to God what is sure and true.” Hope that helps.