Festival of St. Matthias, Apostle
Posted on February 24, 2022 by under
Scripture: Hebrews 11:32-40 (NKJV)
11:32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
Devotion
If the holy writer could scarcely summarize the great deeds of the faithful in the time that he had, this writer certainly cannot do it in this devotion. The Church has an awe-inspiring wealth of examples in the lives of the saints of God to motivate us in our own lives. At times, our perception of the Christian life is very narrow and limited to our own experiences. But when we review the testimony and witness of those who have gone before, we are encouraged in our faith, renewed in our hope, and strengthened in our resolve to soldier on in our pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The writer says in the next chapter, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1-2). We should think of these faithful examples whenever we come together to worship, knowing that the saints above and we below are part of one communion, and that with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify the glorious name of our God.
Prayer: Almighty God, who into the place of the traitor Judas didst choose Thy faithful servant Matthias, grant that Thy Church, ever being preserved from false apostles, may continually abide in the doctrine of Thy true Apostles; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Another Collect for the Festival of St. Matthias, Apostle
O Almighty God, Who by Thy Son Jesus Christ, didst give to Thy holy Apostles many excellent gifts, and commandest them earnestly to feed Thy flock: Make, we beseech Thee, all Pastors diligently to preach Thy holy Word, and the people obediently to follow the same, that they may receive the crown of everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for Sexagesima Sunday
O Lord God, Who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do: Mercifully grant that by Thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
