Numbered as One of Us
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Randy L Quinn

It’s funny how some things stick in your mind. Snapshots and vignettes of events from the past are sometimes so clear we can speak about them as if they happened yesterday. And then there are things someone will tell us about or remind us of and we can’t remember any of it. Maybe it really is true that we remember what we need to remember.

One of those clear memories for me took place in December, 1980. It was my first day on board the submarine I was assigned to, the USS Parche (SSN 683). The Executive Officer, Commander Archie Clemens (who later retired from the Navy as a “four-star” admiral), was giving me advice about how to be an effective member of the ship’s crew. He told me that as a Department Head, my primary job was to make decisions. He then recounted some statistics about decision-making. And while I remember the conversation, I can’t recall the exact numbers, but he said something like this: “Statistically you’ll find that if you make 20 decisions, you’ll make 2 or 3 mistakes. And if you make 200 decisions, you’ll make 10 or 15 mistakes. But the moral is that the more decisions you make, the better your percentage of making right decisions will be. So,” he said, “go and make decisions.”

Of course, you don’t need to be the Supply Officer of a submarine to make decisions. We all make decisions. We make them every day. We decide what clothes to wear in the morning and we make choices about what to eat for breakfast. We decide whether or not we are going to attend church – and which church we will attend. We make choices about where to live and how to manage our finances.

We all make decisions every day. Some decisions are easy to make; some are more complex. And some of our decisions are moved to the subconscious as they become habits rather than conscious choices.

Depending upon the nature of the decision, I sometimes have to think about it for a while; other times I make snap decisions.

Sometimes I talk to people about it and other times I explore the internet before making a decision.

Some people test their ideas out to see how others will react and others purposely make choices to rile other people.

Some people like to “sleep on it” and other people like to postpone a decision until it’s too late and the decision is made by someone else.

I don’t know how you make decisions. Nor do I know if you’ve ever taken time to reflect on the process you use in making decisions, but I know you make them. Today’s story from the book of Acts gives us insight into how the early church made decisions, and gives us some useful tools for making decisions that I believe are worth incorporating in our decision-making processes.

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, "Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus – for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry."

So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us – one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection." So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

It’s helpful, perhaps, to point out that Luke, the author of the book of Acts, is clear in reporting that the church is not replacing one of the twelve disciples; rather he tells us that Peter is looking for a twelfth apostle (Acts 1:25). The difference is subtle, but I think it is noteworthy. And while I know it’s an oversimplification, the difference is that a disciple is one who is learning from someone; while an apostle is someone who proclaims what they have learned.

Anyone can become a disciple. You and I are disciples. But not everyone is called to be an apostle. We are all called to our own ministry; each of us has a place in the church; and God calls each of us to our own particular vocation in society.

Some are called to be apostles.

Some are called to be teachers.

Some are called into the medical field and some are called into the practice of law.

Some are called to be farmers and some are called to be journalists.

Some are called to be law enforcement officers and some are called to serve in government.

One of the most difficult decisions we make is determining what our vocation will be, discerning what God wants us to become. It’s difficult, in part, because we are rarely faced with the option of something that is obviously wrong. No one is called to be a bank robber, for example. So we find ourselves facing several good options, none of which are bad; all of which could be a valid calling from God.

For those who are graduating this year, those are very real concerns. Heading to college – or not – depends upon what we believe God is calling us to do. But the question is just as valid for those of us who are currently working or who have retired, because God continues to call us into service. Sometimes that service includes short term commitments like mission trips; other times it is a long term ministry like teaching Sunday School or leading a small group. Even after we have been serving in a particular role, we need to keep our ears attuned to God’s will because God may have new things in mind for us.

It’s been a few years since I read the book Gut Feelings by Gerd Gigerenzer, but every once in a while I find myself musing over it. The book’s subtitle is “The Intelligence of the Unconscious,” and it explores the ways we make decisions by extracting key bits of information and processing them in ways we don’t often recognize as it’s happening.

I thought of his book this week as I was reflecting on the selection of Matthias as the twelfth apostle (Acts 1:26). I was particularly interested in their process of discernment, a word often used to describe the spiritual process of making decisions based on God’s will. Clearly, we do not have all of the details of the process. But I am convinced that Luke reports to us the key ingredients of the discernment process.

Immediately preceding today’s scripture from Acts, we learn that the disciples have gathered together in prayer (Acts 1:14). Before any decision is made, before they know what choices need to be made, they pray.

That is our first clue about how to discern God’s will: we join together in prayer. We pray and we ask others to pray. We pray with our hearts and our minds as well as our mouths and our ears. We pray as individuals, but we also pray together. We express our concerns and we wait for God’s response.

One of the most difficult – and most rewarding – things I think God has called me to do is to serve on the District Committee on Ministry. I am one of a dozen or so people who meet several times through the year to help discern who and how God is calling people to serve our church as pastors and deacons. Our church structure is set up so that no one can walk in the doors and say they have been called to preach without someone confirming that calling.

Sometimes I think we put too many barriers up, creating too many “hoops” to jump; but most of the time, I believe we are doing God’s work by helping people discern their calling. In fact, I sometimes wish we had a committee like that to help us determine who among us is best suited to be a diesel mechanic and who is best suited to be an electrician; who is best suited to teach and who is better suited to be an airline pilot. Short of that, we do well when we enlist the help of others to pray for us and to listen with us as we discern God’s will for our lives. The process, however, begins with prayer.

The second clue we get from Peter is that he has been reading the scripture (Acts 1:16). There is no better way to hear God’s voice than to listen to the words of the Bible. There we find the clear delineation between right and wrong as well as the more subtle sense of God’s desires for justice and protection of those who are powerless. The Bible helps us learn to see the world from God’s perspective and helps us narrow our options when decisions are being made.

Having a regular discipline of reading scripture daily is an important part of our spiritual preparation for decision-making. And when we are new to the faith, or have less experience in life, we do well when we find people who are more mature in their faith and have more familiarity with the scriptures whenever we have significant decisions to make.

In his own reading of the scripture, Peter notes there were references to filling vacancies, and surmises that God is speaking to him – and by extension those who are gathered together in prayer – about the need to fill the void left by Judas (Acts 1:20).

There were 120 or more possible candidates among them, including, we are told some women (Acts 1:14). I’m not sure that any of them would have been the wrong person to choose. But Peter wants to find the person God is calling to be an apostle. So Peter sets the criteria based on what the others have in common: they all had been with Jesus since the days of John the Baptist, and they had all witnessed the resurrection (Acts 1:22). The original twelve, of whom eleven remain, were called by Jesus to be disciples; but these are the only common denominators they could find.

In discerning God’s will, it is helpful to look at our past experiences, our interests, and what makes us unique. When we have a good sense of who we are, we can begin to ask how God might be able to use our specific gifts and passions.

When combined with prayer and an understanding of scripture, self-knowledge allows us to determine what is possible. If you don’t like to swim, it’s not likely God will call you to be an Olympic swimmer.

But sometimes we don’t know what we like, or we don’t know ourselves as well as we think; we have to test things out. Helping in a Sunday School class may help us learn if we like being with children in a learning environment, for example. Volunteering with a blood drive may help us discern whether our fear of the sight of blood should keep us from serving in a medical field.

A friend of mine told me about his son who on a college internship learned he really didn’t like working with other people. So he changed the focus of his degree toward research, where he could work more independently. Self-awareness is key to discerning God’s call in our lives.

The last thing we can learn from Peter is what seems to be the most curious piece of the story. He cast lots (Acts 1:26a). It was like “flipping a coin.”

Up to this point, he has surrounded the decision with prayer; he has relied upon the scriptures; and he knows the criteria. Now he knows that with two good choices, God will bless them in the work ahead no matter which way they go. So he makes a choice and gets on with the work at hand (Acts 1:26b).

This is where I go back to the book I read a few years ago. The worst thing we can do when we are in the midst of making a difficult decision is to not decide. In fact, the book concludes that the more complex a decision is, the less information we really need to make good choices. Too often, we over-analyze a situation, and in the process our decision-making abilities become murky and ineffective.

Instead, we need to make a decision and live with the consequences – whether good or bad. Sometimes, as Archie Clemens told me, we will make bad decisions. But the more often we practice discerning God’s will, the better we will become at doing it.

So where does that leave us? It gives us a process for making decisions, especially difficult decisions: Pray. Read the scriptures. Search your heart. Make a commitment. And when we do that, God will bless us.

Thanks be to God. Amen.