Follow Me and Be Transformed
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May 19, 2025Follow Me and Be Transformed
The following is a transcription of a homily given by Deacon Robin Waters on Wednesday, May 14th, 2025 (Fourth Week of Easter) - Year C, Cycle 1 - Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Psalm 113:1-8; John 15:9-17
Pearl: “I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.” -John 15:16
Today is the feast of St. Matthias, the man who was chosen by the Apostles to replace Judas. Our first reading, taken from the book of Acts, tells the story. Peter stood up and set the stage for how selecting the replacement for Judas would take place. First, he quoted the Psalms, which foretold a betrayer and that another would take the betrayer’s office. St. Peter put the standard for this new Apostle very high, saying that it must be a man who had been with them and Jesus from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (starting with His baptism by John in the Jordan) all the way to the Resurrection. Two men met these criteria: Joseph called Barsabbas, and Matthias. The Apostles prayed and then put the selection in the hands of the Holy Spirit. The replacement was chosen by lots, and the lot fell on Matthias, whose name means “gift of God.”
St. Clement of Alexandria said that “Matthias, like all the other Apostles, was not chosen by Jesus for what he already was, but for what Jesus foresaw he would become. He was elected not because he was worthy but because he would become worthy.” Jesus chooses to call all of us in the same way. On our own, we aren’t capable or worthy to live and share the Gospel and God’s love as we should. None of us are. But Jesus sees the heart and gives us the strength (through the Holy Spirit) to become worthy, to be the Christian servant He calls us to be.
When Jesus started His public ministry, we’re told in Matthew 4:18-19 that His first order of business was to call His first disciples. It says that “as he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen.” No, they weren’t holy men, highly trained in the faith. They were sinners like us. Jesus said to them, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” He didn’t say, “Follow me because of who you are;” He said, “Follow me because of what I will make you.”
Allowing Jesus to make us, to form us, to mold us into the disciples He wants us to become is scary and intimidating and can only be done through faith, trust, humility, and (most of all) surrender to the will and love of God.
That’s all! No problem, right?
Of course it’s a problem, because we’re weak (especially spiritually) and giving up control is against our nature. But in reality, surrendering to God’s will and living the life of love He is calling us to live is why we exist, it’s why we were born. The world, our culture, and possibly even our friends and family may not see it that way, but it’s the truth.
Driving this point home, our Gospel reading highlights the second time in the Gospel of John that Jesus gives the Apostles His new commandment about love when He says, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” But then He goes a little further and not only gives us an example of what this type of love looks like, but also states clearly what we must do to actually live the life of love this new commandment calls us to.
First, He says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This is something we all can relate to, especially here in West, Texas, because we all observed many of our friends, neighbors, and relatives do exactly that the day the fertilizer plant exploded.
Then, Jesus makes a statement that is easily overlooked but is critical to loving one another as Jesus has loved us. He says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” So, what did Jesus command? He commanded us to love one another as He loves us. I know that may seem impossible, and if we try to do it by our own personal effort or intelligence, it is. However, each of us knows that all things are possible with God and that Jesus would never give us a command that we couldn’t carry out. So to do this, Jesus does something unthinkable: He gives us Himself.
Through our baptism, Jesus truly is dwelling in us, and we are more than just friends of Jesus - we are His brothers and sisters, we are family. And through the Sacraments, He gives us exactly what we need to fully fulfill His commandment to love one another as He loves us. Through the Holy Spirit, God has planted His sanctifying grace deep within [our] hearts and continues to replenish and fortify that grace with each sacramental encounter we have with Him.
The issue isn’t Jesus. The issue is us and how we often get so tied up in living our physical and emotional existence that we neglect the spiritual life and don’t allow His gift of grace to bloom. Instead, it gets all bound up and ineffective. Let us surrender ourselves to Jesus every day (body, mind, and soul), praying: “Lord Jesus, please unleash in me whatever is needed for me to live the life of love you have commanded.”
St. Matthias, pray for us. Amen.