Here’s a Bible Trivia question: “Who replaced Judas Iscariot among the Twelve?” Answer: “Matthias.” And that pretty much tells you all there is to know about Matthias except that he was said to be someone who had traveled around with Jesus and the other Apostles.

We are familiar with the story of Jesus calling the Twelve, but there seems to have been a much larger group (perhaps seventy) who also followed Jesus. Matthias was probably one of these. After Judas committed suicide or maybe fell down in a field, Matthias was selected by lot. That always struck me as an odd way to do things, but it’s still the way the Hutterites and Amish select their elders and bishops.

A strange thing about the Twelve is that after Matthias, no one is ever added to the group to replace those who were martyred. The leadership of the church fell to elders and bishops assisted by deacons.

It’s strange that we in the ELCA have a very rigorous system of selecting and training elders (pastors) and deacons, but our method of choosing bishops is almost like casting lots.  We have an election, without nominations and no qualifications other than being a pastor. On the first ballot any pastor in the ELCA is eligible to receive a vote. That often results in surprises. We’ve elected some very good people as bishop, so maybe there’s some value in this quasi-lottery. It all reminds me of William Cowper’s old hymn, “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.”

Mysterious indeed.

Read Acts 1:21-26 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne