Wednesday, 6th Week of Ordinary Time

Acts 1:15-26

And then there were 11. And so, Peter’s first act as leader of this community of Jesus’s disciples is to call for the restoration of The Twelve by replacing Judas, the traitor. Remember the last question his disciples asked Jesus: “Lord, is this the time at which you are to restore sovereignty to Israel” (Acts 1:6, Rev. Eng. Bible). Jesus responded by trying to expand their vision: “you will bear witness for me…even in the farthest corners of the earth” (1:8). And yet, here they are, replicating the symbolism of the Twelve tribes of Israel.

But according to the same Luke who reported that conversation in Acts, Jesus also promised: “in my kingdom you shall eat and drink at my table and sit in thrones as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:29). Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise first made to Israel on Mt. Sinai: “You will be to me a kingdom of priests, my holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Israel was to be “holy,” that is, set apart by God, but also to be a nation of priests, that is, mediators of salvation to all the nations.

The community that Jesus has formed are on the cusp of something new, which they can’t yet envision. Yet, they are right to maintain continuity with their past. Their past is not to be rejected, but completed. So it is with us. We are who we are because of those who came before us in faith. And to reject our past would be to reject ourselves. At the same time, we are called to a new expression of that faith, for a new time. Past and future: we are called to embrace both.