Ephesians 2:19-22 / Luke 6:12-19
We are being built into a temple
Charles Schulz, author of the Peanuts cartoon, once said, "How can you go to something that you are already a part of? If you are a Christian, you are the 'Church.' " Someone else said, "That's precisely my problem with the Church. How can I believe that Christ founded it,
What kind of witness to the Church are we giving to others? "The only way the world knows anything about the Christ is by watching his followers." Steve Lawhead
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Our foundation is the Apostles
Little is known about these apostles. The nickname “Zealot” probably indicates the Simon had been among the anti-Roman activists before he became an apostle. Jude, brother of James and also called Thaddeus, asked Jesus after the Last Supper how Jesus could show himself to the world as Messiah without using force. Jesus answered him that the believers would accept him because of his love.
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Some ancient Christian writings have it that St. Simon and St. Jude went
together as missionaries to Persia, and were martyred there. This may explain
the lack of historical information on them and also why their feast days are
usually put together. Even the gospel accounts do not say much about them.
St. Simon is called the Zealot (or Zealous) maybe because of his patriotism and
nationalism. St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in
his hand or close to his chest, which according to some accounts, was used to
preach the Good News
Devotional prayers to St. Jude helped people, especially newly arrived
immigrants from Europe to the US, deal with the pressures caused by the Great
Depression and World War II and other political and economic and social
changes. St. Jude is also invoked as the patron saint of desperate cases. So
even though we may not know much about the historical facts of these two
saints, we know that they are praying for us.
We also have recourse to them in our needs, especially to the intercession of
St. Jude. They also remind us that we have to keep faith in Jesus and trust in
Him always. They even laid down their lives for Jesus in order to witness to
Him.
May we also put forth our needs through the intercession of St. Simon and St.
Jude, and may we also offer our lives to God in this Mass.
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Jesus
prays all through the night in the hills and then calls his own by name to him.
Simon and Jude are chosen among the twelve. We know that Simon was called a
zealot-one who was passionate about the coming of the messiah and the kingdom
of God in justice for the people. Whether he belonged to the Zealot party (that
was sometimes violent in attacking the Romans, engaged in subversive
activities) or not, he is remembered for his strength in wanting God’s kingdom
to come into the world. And then there is Jude, the son of James-really Judas,
the same as the one who betrayed Jesus but this one remained faithful. Both
died martyrs deaths after they came in the power of the Spirit to know the
courage of the cross and allegiance to Jesus. Not much else is known about them
except that they were from the beginning two of those who brought the good news
to the poor. We too by our baptisms and confirmation have been called by name
to walk with Jesus and to share the good news to the poor. Jesus has prayed for
our faithfulness, our freedom and our obedience. Let us remember whose company
we belong to and pray for one another.
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These could be the patrons of all anonymous people. Both of them have
difficulty even in getting their names remembered! Simon is chiefly know as not
Simon Peter! The gospel writers themselves call him by different names: Luke
calls him “Simon the Zealot,” Matthew and Mark call him “Simon the Canaanite.”
Nothing more that that is recorded of him! It’s a slim CV! His companion Jude
is likewise almost anonymous. There is difficulty about his name too: John
calls him “Judas—not the Iscariot!” Luke calls him “Jude the brother of James,”
Matthew calls him “Thaddeus.” Nothing is said of him in any of the gospels
except that he asked a question, “Lord, what is all this about?” (Jn 14:22).
The rest is silence. A New Testament letter bears his name, but scholars think
it extremely unlikely that he wrote it.
Their egos left no trace— like the flight of birds in the sky. They are the
patrons of the vast majority of all the Christians who have ever lived. There
is a lot to be said for silence and anonymity: they can give depth. Without
Simon and Jude the New Testament would be poorer; it would be all light and
little shade. We might not so easily see ourselves in it.
– – – – – – – – – – –
Both of them, Simon and Jude, have difficulty even in getting their names
remembered! Simon is chiefly known as not Simon Peter! The gospel writers
themselves call him by different names: Luke calls him “Simon the Zealot,”
Matthew and Mark call him “Simon the Canaanite.” Nothing more that that is
recorded of him! It is a slim CV! His companion Jude is likewise almost
anonymous. There is difficulty about his name too: John calls him “Judas – not
the Iscariot!” Luke calls him “Jude the brother of James,” Matthew calls him
“Thaddeus.” Nothing is said of him in any of the gospels except that he asked a
question, “Lord, what is all this about?” (Jn 14:22). The rest is silence. A
New Testament letter bears his name, but scholars think it extremely unlikely
that he wrote it. Beautiful! Their egos left no trace – like the flight of
birds in the sky. They are the patrons of the vast majority of all the
Christians who have ever lived. They are your personal patrons every time
someone asks, “What’s your name again?”
Let us Pray:
Lord our God,
as we celebrate your apostles Simon and Jude,
we remember how your Son could build his Church
on weak and fallible people
and make these its firm foundations.
We pray with your Son
that our faith may remain unshaken
in your Church and in those who lead it.
As they struggle and grope,
let your Spirit fill them
with his wisdom and his fire.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
