Chosen for Friendship: The Hidden Apostle’s Legacy | Daily Readings | May 14, 2025
May 14, 2025 – Daily Catholic Lectionary Readings for the Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle.
Discover the extraordinary story of the apostle chosen after the resurrection – a faithful disciple who followed Jesus from the beginning without recognition, then stepped into apostolic leadership through divine election. Experience how Matthias bridges the gap between those who walked with Jesus in Galilee and all who follow the risen Christ today.
This cinematic reflection explores:
- How the overlooked disciple became the apostle who completed the Twelve
- What it means to be elevated from servant to friend of Jesus
- The connection between divine election and unexpected elevation
- How sustained relationship produces lasting spiritual fruit
Readings covered: Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; John 15:9-17
Perfect for anyone serving faithfully without recognition, navigating major decisions through discernment, seeking deeper friendship with Christ, or wondering how their own story connects to the apostolic witness.
#SaintMatthias #ApostleFeast #FaithfulPresence #DivineElection #FruitfulFriendship #CatholicSaint #BibleStudy #WednesdayReflection #ResurrectionWitness #GodExaltsHumble
Chosen for Friendship: The Hidden Apostle’s Legacy
“I no longer call you servants… but I have called you friends.”
These words from Jesus upend everything. The Creator of the universe looks at you and says: “You are my friend.”
Most of us still live as servants, not friends. We approach God like employees trying to impress a boss. We keep our distance, carefully managing the relationship. We expect instructions, not conversation. We focus on performance, not connection.
This servant mindset infects our other relationships too. We reduce people to functions. We maintain careful distance. We keep score.
Jesus offers something revolutionary: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” He brings us inside the very flow of divine love between Father and Son. “I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” Friends share secrets. Friends bring you inside. Friends trust you with their true selves.
Our first reading shows this friendship isn’t offered only to the obvious candidates. After Judas’s betrayal, the apostles need to restore the Twelve. Two men qualify: Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias. Both had followed Jesus faithfully from the beginning. Both had been present throughout his ministry.
The community prays, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one you have chosen.” The lot falls to Matthias. The overlooked disciple steps into the apostolic circle, chosen for friendship with Jesus and leadership in the community.
Matthias appears nowhere else in scripture. No words, no miracles, no epistles. Just faithful presence from beginning to end. Yet this hidden disciple completes the apostolic circle – a powerful reminder that divine friendship doesn’t depend on dazzling gifts or public recognition.
The psalm reinforces this: “He raises up the lowly from the dust… to seat them with princes.” This divine pattern runs throughout scripture – shepherds becoming kings, fishermen becoming apostles, tax collectors becoming evangelists. God consistently chooses the overlooked for friendship and purpose.
But the heart of today’s readings isn’t just about being chosen. It’s about why: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”
Jesus chooses us for friendship that leads to fruitfulness. Not the exhausting productivity of servants trying to prove their worth, but the natural abundance that flows when we remain connected to the source.
“Abide in my love,” Jesus says. The secret to bearing fruit isn’t trying harder but staying connected. Friendship with Jesus isn’t a status to achieve but a relationship to nurture through ongoing intimacy.
How different would our lives look if we approached each day not as anxious servants but as cherished friends? If we stopped the exhausting performance and simply stayed connected to the vine? If we traded our obsession with results for attention to relationship?
Jesus measures love by his own self-giving: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This kind of love isn’t sentiment but costly commitment. It’s showing up when it’s inconvenient. It’s speaking truth when silence would be easier. It’s forgiving when resentment feels justified.
We can only love this way because we’ve first been loved this way. We can only be this kind of friend because Jesus has befriended us. We can only bear this kind of fruit because we remain connected to the vine.
Like Matthias, we’ve been chosen not for our impressive resumes but for relationship. Today, Jesus looks you in the eye and says: “I do not call you servants any longer… but I have called you friends.” The question is: Will you believe him?
