Can I get a witness: Gold stars and gray dots

6^th Sunday after Easter, April 27, 2008

We’ve been talking about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus and the witnesses to them.  All of these witnesses of the post-resurrected Jesus turn into ‘witnesses’ of that fact to the world.  So far we’ve talked about Jesus appearing to a group of disciples behind locked doors; ‘doubting’ Thomas; the disciples on the road to Emmaus and Peter.  This week is our second-to-last week in the series, and appropriately so, we’re talking about the second-to-last person in the Bible who was called to be witnesses of Jesus to the world; next week we’ll talk about the last person called in the Bible to be a witness.  The first who we are talking about today is a person who saw Jesus in the flesh – someone who was a witness before he was a witness (know what I mean?)  The second person we will talk about next week to conclude our series was someone who did not see Jesus in the flesh, but was called to be a witness anyway. 

Here’s the ‘trivia’ question of the morning.  After Judas hung himself, the inner core group of Disciples dropped from 12 to 11.  Who was the person chosen to replace Judas and become one of the group of the inner 12?  Anyone?  Anyone?  His name was Matthias.  Let’s look at our reading today from Acts chapter 1:12-26.

First, though, let’s have a little review.  Acts is the fifth book in the New Testament, so it goes Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and then Acts.  It was written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by Luke, the same gentleman who wrote the Gospel of Luke.  Acts is really a sequel to the book of Luke, and picks up where Luke stopped writing in his Gospel.  Both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were written to a person named Theophilus.  Nothing is really known about Theophilus except for one thing: he had just ‘the awefullest’ name in the whole New Testament.  Some have wondered if there was a specific person named Theophilus who Luke was writing to, or if Luke was writing his gospel and book of Acts to believers, converts and seekers.  The reason for this question is because the name Theophilus literally means “God lover” or “lover of God.”  Either way, in chapter one of Acts, Luke records the replacement of Judas:

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.  In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus –  he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” …“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, ‘May another take his place of leadership.’ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us.  For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.  Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”  Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

You all remember Matthias, right?  You remember the records of him and how he walked on water like Jesus when he baptized the man from Egypt, right?  You remember how he wouldn’t heal one of the daughters of the Roman emperor Nero because she denied Jesus as the savior, and that’s what pushed Nero over the edge to persecute the Christians?  Remember the time he healed the little boy who fell out of a tree and broke his leg, or the time he raised the father of a small family back to life?  Why, Matthias is practically a household word around Christian homes today!

In case your squirming in your pews right now wondering what you’ve missed in Sunday School or previous sermons, let me ease your mind: after these verses in Acts, we never hear another word about Matthias again in all of scripture.  We don’t know anything about the man’s personal life, where his ministry was located, how he ‘did’ as a replacement for Judas, or even how he died.  Matthias has slipped into obscurity, mentioned only in these verses.  The only recognition he has now is in the Catholic and Greek Orthodox traditions as the patron saint of alcoholism, smallpox, and…Gary, Indiana.  I ‘get’ how the patron saint thing is supposed to work, but really, wouldn’t you want to be the patron saint of something good, something better than alcoholism, smallpox, and Gary, Indiana?

So why mention him, really?  Why did Luke even bother to tell us about his election to the 12 core disciples who were the apostles if after this we never hear anything more about him?  Why take the time to have a message based on him today?  Why bother with the whole patron saint thing?  The answer is very simple: no matter how his life turned out, what he did or didn’t do, no matter what is associated with him today as a ‘saint’, Matthias was chosen by God.

He followed Jesus from the beginning.  Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us.  Matthias was a student of Jesus and knew Him.

He knew Jesus was his Lord and turned to Him in prayer.  They all joined together constantly in prayer.  Matthias knew Jesus was the only one worthy of his worship.

He saw Jesus alive after His resurrection.  For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.  Matthias saw the resurrected Jesus and it changed his life.

Matthias of alcoholism, Matthias of smallpox, Matthias of Gary, Indiana, was chosen by God regardless of what became associated with him later.  Here’s a better one: Matthias was chosen by God regardless of what was associated with him at that time.  The same is true for you and me, too.

Maybe people don’t look at you and think of smallpox, but some of you know what it’s like to wear a label.  I’d like to read a story to you now.  It’s called You are special, by Christian author Max Lucado.  It’s a children’s story, but it has a powerful message:

The Wemmicks were small wooden people. All of the wooden people were carved by a woodworker named Eli. His workshop sat on a hill overlooking their village.

Each Wemmick was different. Some had big noses, others had large eyes. Some were tall and others were short. Some wore hats, others wore coats. But all were made by the same carver and all lived in the village.

And all day, every day, the Wemmicks did the same thing: They gave each other stickers. Each Wemmick had a box of golden star stickers and a box of gray dot stickers. Up and down the streets all over the city, people spent their days sticking stars or dots on one another. The pretty ones, those with smooth wood and fine paint, always got stars. But if the wood was rough or the paint chipped, the Wemmicks gave dots.

The talented ones got stars, too. Some could lift big sticks high above their heads or jump over tall boxes. Still others knew big words or could sing pretty songs. Everyone gave them stars. Some Wemmicks had stars all over them! Every time they got a star, it made them feel so good! It made them wants to do something else and get another star. Others, though, could do little. They got dots.

Punchinello was one of these. He tried to jump high like the others, but he always fell. And when he fell, the others would gather around and give him dots. Sometimes when he fell, his wood got scratched, so the people would give him more dots. Then when he would try to explain why he fell, he would say something silly, and the Wemmicks would give him more dots. After a while he had so many dots that he didn't want to go outside. He was afraid he would do something dumb such as forget his hat or step in the water, and then people would give him another dot. In fact, he had so many gray dots that some people would come up and give him one for no reason at all.

"He deserves lots of dots," the wooden people would agree with one another. "He's not a good wooden person." After a while, Punchinello believed them. "I'm not a good Wemmick," he would say. The few times he went outside, he hung around other Wemmicks who had a lot of dots. He felt better around them.

One day he met a Wemmick who was unlike any he'd ever met. She had no dots or stars. She was just wooden. Her name was Lucia. It wasn't that people didn't try to give her stickers; it's just that the stickers didn't stick. Some of the Wemmicks admired Lucia for having no dots, so they would run up and give her a star. But it would fall off. Others would look down on her for having no stars, so they would give her a dot. But it wouldn't stay either.

That's the way I want to be, thought Punchinello. I don't want anyone's marks. So he asked the stickerless Wemmick how she did it.

"It's easy," Lucia replied.

"Every day I go see Eli."

"Eli?"

"Yes, Eli. The woodcarver. I sit in the workshop with him."

"Why?"

"Why don t you find out for yourself? Go up the hill. He's there." And with that the Wemmick who had no stickers turned and skipped away.

"But will he want to see me?" Punchinello cried out. Lucia did not hear. So Punchinello went home. He sat near a window and watched the wooden people as they scurried around giving each other stars and dots.

"It's not right," he muttered to himself. And he decided to go see Eli.

He walked up the narrow path to the top of the hill and stepped into the big shop. His wooden eyes widened at the size of everything. The stool was as tall as he was. He had to stretch on his tiptoes to see the top of the workbench. A hammer was as long as his arm. Punchinello swallowed hard.

"I'm not staying here!" and he turned to leave. Then he heard his name.

"Punchinello?" The voice was deep and strong. Punchinello stopped. "Punchinello! How good to see you. Come and let me have a look at you."

Punchinello turned slowly and looked at the large bearded craftsman.

"You know my name?" the little Wemmick asked.

"Of course I do. I made you."

Eli stooped down, picked him up, and set him on the bench. "Hmm," the maker spoke thoughtfully as he looked at the gray dots.

"Looks like you've been given some bad marks."

"I didn't mean to, Eli. I really tried hard."

"Oh, you don't have to defend yourself to me, child. I don't care what the other Wemmicks think."

"You don't?"

"No, and you shouldn't either. Who are they to give stars or dots? They are Wemmicks just like you. What they think doesn't matter, Punchinello. All that matters is what I think. And I think you are pretty special."

Punchinello laughed. "Me, special? Why? I can't walk fast. I can't jump. My paint is peeling. Why do I matter to you?" Eli looked at Punchinello, put his hands on those small wooden shoulders, and spoke very slowly. "Because you are mine. That's why you matter to me."

Punchinello had never had anyone look at him like this - much less his maker. He didn't know what to say.

"Every day I've been hoping you'd come", Eli explained.

"I came because I met someone who had no marks," said Punchinello,

"I know. She told me about you."

"Why don't the stickers stay on her?"

The maker spoke softly.

"Because she has decided that what I think is more important than what they think. The stickers only stick if you let them."

"What?"

"The stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about their stickers."

"I'm not sure I understand."

Eli smiled. "You will, but it will take time. You've got a lot of marks. For now, just come to see me every day and let me remind you how much I care." Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and set him on the ground.

"Remember," Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door, "you are special because I made you. And I don t make mistakes."

Punchinello did not stop, but in his heart he thought, I think he really means it.

And when he did, a dot fell to the ground. [1]

Got any dots today?  Ones that are both deserved and undeserved?  God says to you the same thing He said to Matthias: I don’t care where you’ve been, and I don’t care how others have labeled you.  You are mine.  And as mine, I’ve chosen you.  You may have made some mistakes along the way, but I chose you. 

You may have done something’s I’ve told you not to, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.

You may have even rejected the life I had planned for you, went off and lived a life that I have told you not to, walked away from the truth I told you in My word, but I haven’t forgotten you.

You are mine, because I made you.  I made you because I love you.  I love you, so I took the punishment for your sins on my own body.  I took the punishment, died and rose, so anyone who believes this can be with me forever.

We don’t know anything about Matthias today, that’s true.  And the truth is the next generation may not know much about us.  But the same truth that existed for Matthias exists for us today – we have been chosen in Christ, before the creation of the world.  Matthias of alcoholism, Matthias of smallpox, Matthias of Gary, Indiana, was God’s special creation and selection for just that time and place.

And so are you and me.  Hold on to that this week, because we’re going to do a little “Luke” thing, and have our message next week be like the sequel to this week’s message.  We’ll pick it up right here where we are leaving off next week.  In the meantime, hold on to the truth of God’s love, devotion, and selection of you.

Amen.