Jesus said to his disciples:
As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.
The peace of the Lord be with you.
On this feast of Saint Matthias, there is a theme of being chosen running through our readings. There is always something pleasant about being chosen or recognized. For most of us, it may date back to our earliest moments in life, probably to some of our earliest friendships. Being chosen by someone outside our family to be part of something that links us to another person or another group of people.
Today, the Son of all creation says he chooses us as friend. Let that sink in for a moment. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of all creation wants to be our friend. He is inviting us to His house, wants us to share a meal, and stay after the meal to catch up on what has been happening in our lives. We have been chosen. Today, independent of how we may feel about ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses — let us accept this invitation to true friendship.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.