Taught to regard Jesus' Twelve Apostles as the Church's first
bishops and priests, few of us take the time or make the effort to
find out how Luke, who features the Twelve more than any other
evangelist, views them. It's especially important to explore Luke's
intentions this week since our first reading for Sunday describes
Matthias' Judas-replacing election.
Actually, we must begin our quest long before Matthias' election.
We discover the meaning of the Twelve only by exploring the reason
Luke chose to compose a two-volume Gospel (Luke/Acts) instead of
employing the one-volume format which the other three evangelists
favored.
Crossroads
Richard Dillon writes in the New Jerome Biblical Commentary that
Luke was deeply concerned with "the continuity of salvation history
through its central crossroads, the life of Jesus and the birth of
the Church." In other words, Luke wanted to show how the Church for
whom he was writing his Gospel was intimately connected to the
ministry of the historical Jesus. That objective prompted him to
continue his version of the Good News beyond Jesus' death and
resurrection into the life of the early Christian community.
In Dillon's words, Luke, like many later denominational apologists,
was addressing a "continuity crisis."
"He had to establish the historical nexus between Israel and Jesus
on the one hand (the Gospel) and between Jesus and the Church on
the other (Acts), and thus to demonstrate the full scope of the
divine plan in which the Church of the present proves to be the
proper destination of God's way with Israel."
Luke's thesis turns on the hinge of the Twelve. Representing the
original Twelve Tribes of Israel (that's why no women are among
them), they're with Jesus throughout His ministry and His journey
to Jerusalem "from the baptism of John until the day He was taken
up from us" and are made Twelve again after Judas' defection so
that they'll be intact when the Holy Spirit arrives to bring forth
the Church. The Twelve bridge the gap between Israel and' h) 0*0*0*°° '
Christianity. Matthias, as a member of the Twelve, is a symbolic
necessity (Acts 1: 15-17, 20-26).
But the Twelve are required only until the Holy Spirit brings the
Church into existence. By 9 a.m. on Pentecost Sunday, they've
completed their mission. None of the Twelve is ever replaced after
that day. They're no longer needed. The Holy Spirit's now in
charge.
Though John shows the same concern for continuity in the Gospel (Jn
17:11-19), he doesn't use the Twelve. Instead, he stresses the
risen Jesus "dwelling" in His disciples (a term which describes
every follower of Jesus, not just those in leadership positions):
"I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to guard them
from the evil one. They are not of the world, any more than I am in
the world....As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent
them into the world."
John's continuity revolves around the Christian being able to
identify with Christ. When we, like Jesus, proclaim the Father's
word, then we're one with Jesus. His ministry goes on through
us.
God's love
The author of I John carries this continuity one step further (1 Jn
4:11-16). As we saw last week, he's convinced that only those
disciples follow Jesus correctly who love like Jesus. Granted, no
one has ever seen God, but "if we love one another, God dwells in
us, and His love is brought to perfection in us."
Of course, following his usual theology, the writer believes this
love/oneness happens only when we give ourselves completely over to
the Holy Spirit. "The way we know we remain in Him and He in us is
that He has given us of His Spirit."
Yet, such Spirit-conveyed oneness isn't just a pious thought to be
reflected on during retreats. It's at the very heart of our faith.
"God is love," the author reminds his community, "and whoever
abides in love abides in God, and God abides in that person."
Accustomed to proving continuity between our Church and the
historical Jesus by claiming that our leaders are successors of
Jesus' Apostles, it's refreshing to see how Luke and John handled
that question. But then again, since both believed that each of us
is personally involved in that continuity, their solution's
probably more disturbing than refreshing.
(05-08-97)