Appointed Scripture Readings: Isaiah 66: 1-2 Psalm 134 Acts 1: 15-26 St. Matthew 11: 25-30
Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, You chose Your servant Matthias to be numbered among the Twelve. Grant that Your Church, ever preserved from false teachers, may be taught and guided by faithful and true pastors; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
About St. Matthias: Apostle St. Matthias is one of the lesser-known apostles. According to the Early Church Fathers, Matthias was one of the seventy-two sent out by Jesus in Luke 10:1–20. After the ascension, Matthias was chosen by lot to fill the vacancy in the Twelve resulting from the death of Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:16–25). Early Church tradition places Matthias in a number of locations. Some historians suggest that he went to Ethiopia; others place him in Armenia, the first nation to adopt Christianity as a national religion. Martyred for his faith, Matthias may well have met his death at Colchis in Asia Minor, around AD 50. The Church of St. Matthias at Trier, Germany, claims the honor of being the final burial site for Matthias, the only one of the Twelve to be buried in Europe north of the Alps.
Writing for St. Matthias, Apostle: “After one of the apostles was cut off, Christ commanded the eleven others to “go and teach all nations and baptize them into the Father, and into the Son, and into the Holy Spirit.” The apostles (which means “sent ones”) immediately starting doing this. Having chosen Matthias as the twelfth apostle in the place of Judas, on the basis of the authoritative prophecy found in a psalm of David, they received the promised power of the Holy Spirit for the gift of miracles and preaching. They established churches throughout Judea, by bearing witness to the faith in Jesus Christ. Then they went out into the world and preached the same doctrine of the same faith to the nations, establishing churches in every city, from which all the other churches, one after another, received the tradition of faith and doctrine. Every day there are more churches being established. This is precisely why only these churches are able to call themselves apostolic, because they are the offspring of apostolic churches…. Therefore, though there are so many churches, they all comprise the one original church founded by the apostles. In this way, they are all originally apostolic and one, in unity, peaceful communion, and are brothers in the bond of hospitality, hospitality, privileges which derive from no other rule than the one tradition from the same mystery. From this we draw up our rule of faith… all doctrine that agrees with the apostolic churches, which are the molds and original sources, must be regarded as the truth that contains what was received from the apostles, the apostles from Christ, and Christ from God. All doctrine must immediately be regarded as false that has the taste of being different from that which the churches received from the apostles, from Christ, from God. —Tertullian
All of the above is from Concordia Publishing House: Treasury of Daily Prayer (Kindle Locations 39561-39563).
Reflection: When parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, pastors, ministers, beginning with the apostles, taught us right and wrong and told us about Jesus, who forgives, you were being built up and into His Church, His temple, His Body and still are. Our ancestors in the faith of the Church, like Matthias were called by the Lord in His death and resurrection, by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God, are awaiting with us our Easter day. His Temple is the template of our lives today to be aware when we, like Matthias, can tell of Jesus and proclaim Him. St. Matthias was different in the Lord’s call to him: he was an apostle. He went into the front lines of this warring world to proclaim the peace beyond understanding (St. John 14:27; Philippians 4: 7). The idolatrous world and it’s worldlings don’t want to hear it. And except for St. John the Evangelist, all the apostles were martyred, so we know the Lord as He knows us all. Matthias died so we can hear the Gospel to this day, no thanks to foes who fear it (“A Mighty Fortress is our God-Luther). For to us all He says, as it is written in the appointed Gospel of this day which Matthias likewise heard:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
For one in place of Judas,
Th’ apostles sought God’s choice;
The lot fell to Matthias
For whom we now rejoice.
may we like true apostles
Your holy Church defend,
And not betray our calling
But serve You to the end.
From, Lutheran Service Book, #517, By All Your Saints in Warfare
Concordia and Koinonia 
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