The Feast of Saints Simon
and Jude, apostles
(Ephesians2:19-22; Luke 6:12-16)
The title “Jude, the Obscure,” belongs to a novel written by
Thomas Hardy, but it might describe one of the two apostles whom we celebrate
today. Besides his appearance on the
lists of apostles given by Luke, Jude’s (or, more accurately, not the
traitorous Judas’) name is mentioned in the Gospel according to John as the
apostle who asks Jesus why he will reveal himself to the apostles and not to
the world (John 14:22). It is very unlikely
that this apostle wrote the New Testament letter that bears the same name.
Simon’s story is a bit thicker than that of Jude although
all that we know of him comes from the distinction the evangelists make between
him and Simon Peter. Luke says that he
is known as “a Zealot,” meaning that he is passionate about fulfilling the
Jewish law. Nevertheless, we should not
think of him as a member of the revolutionary band that is known as Zealots a
generation after Jesus.
The first three evangelists are clear that Jesus
intentionally chooses only twelve men to form his inner group of
disciples. They also show that the men come
from different backgrounds -- fishermen and a tax collector, for example. The fact that Simon is a zealot about the law
and Matthew (or Levi) is of a profession that downplays the Law’s authority further
indicates that Jesus intends that his followers bridge their differences for
the project he is establishing. What we
should find here is that Jesus’ presentation of the Kingdom of God
is neither ersatz nor haphazard. He has
a plan which encompasses fulfilling the prophetic hope of the reunification of
the twelve tribes of Israel. The reunification will blossom after
Pentecost. It will become a movement to
include people moved by the Holy Spirit to form God’s family.
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