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Many of us, in one form or another, know what it is like to be picked last. That’s whether it’s on the field in P.E. class, or maybe for your first choice for school or college, or even for a job you wanted. It can be a hard feeling, but it’s also good when we finally get chosen.
My own experience of this came when I was told by my seminary and sending Diocese to take another unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, or CPE. Most units of CPE are done in a hospital setting where seminarians acts as chaplains to patients and staff. Since I had already done that, I wanted to try something different. I wanted to go to the Training and Counseling Center, or TACC, in Atlanta where I would have the opportunity to help at non-profit programs, perhaps even ones tied to parish work.
During one spring day, I heard back from the head of TACC at the time who called to let me know they sadly had not chosen me for the program. I was sad and disappointed, even though I did have a fall back for doing my unit of CPE.
It was maybe sometime in the morning I received that call. Then I received another from TACC in the afternoon, maybe around 3 hours later, at most 5 or 6. It turns out that someone had to drop out of the CPE unit at TACC that summer and a spot had opened up. The head of TACC was calling me to offer me that place.
I wasn’t their first choice, but I was their second. It was being second, having to have this opportunity open up for me, that helped give me the assurance that God was working in this moment.
Today, we see the Apostles, after Jesus has ascended into Heaven, choosing who is going to be part of their core group of 12. They’re looking for who will fill the spot left open by Judas.
That person ends up being Mathias. Just because he was chosen to act as a replacement for Judas didn’t mean the Apostles weren’t closed to seeing how God was acting. They didn’t just choose who they wanted. They used an ancient method of casting lots, something we see all the way back in the Old Testament books, even in favorites like the Book of Jonah, to determine God’s will. They used this method to show who God wanted to serve, not just who they wanted.
The Apostles were open to opening their ranks. These 12 aren’t even the only ones who would be called by Jesus to share the Good News. Paul later would get called, as well as those who followed him. Not only that, but we will see the Holy Spirit, that great Comforter, reaching out to all kinds of people as we celebrate Pentecost next week.
Yes, there’s the original 12 that were the core of Jesus’ Disciples, those who followed him. Yet these weren’t the only ones called to greater service. When Judas betrayed the Lord, God called another to take his place. When the Lord needed another to spread the Gospel, Jesus turned to one outside the Apostles to join their ranks, one who did not know Him in life and who was not a follower of the Way even. When the Apostles began proclaiming the Good News on the Day of Pentecost, God opened things up so that all who were listening could join in.
The point is, you don’t have to wait on the sidelines for God to pick you for the team. There is always a place open for you. All you have to do is be open and listening and wait for God to reach out to you. You don’t have to start out as an Apostle. Just by being ready, God will call you too.