10/28/2013 – Feast of Jude and Simon, Apostles – Luke 6:12-16

      As we celebrate the feast of St Jude and St Simon today, as we honor and remember two of Jesus’ apostles, it is interesting to reflect upon how much we really don’t know about most of these men who were called to be apostles.  Jude is mentioned in the list of apostles in the Gospel of Luke and in Acts, but he is not mentioned elsewhere, and we know no other facts about him from Scripture.   Scripture tells us that Simon was a Zealot, a group in ancient Israel that was very nationalistic, a group that hoped that the Messiah would come as a military and political leader who would liberate Israel from all foreign powers, to bring Israel to a position of power and glory in the world.  Since the days of the early Church, Simon and Jude have been associated with one another.  Tradition passes down that Simon and Jude brought the Gospel to the people of Persia, to current day Iran, and that they died as martyrs for the faith.

       No, we don't know a lot of details about many of the apostles, but we do know that the faith we have today was passed down by them, that they suffered and sacrificed in order to spread God’s word throughout the world. As we hear in the Gospel of the 12 apostles whom Jesus called by name, we know that they were not the richest, not the most intelligent, not from the most prestigious family in society, but rather that they were very human in their weaknesses and their flaws.   Some were tax collectors and zealots.  Some were so fiery that they were called “the sons of thunder.” In the midst of all of our flaws and weaknesses, the Lord calls us as his followers, to live out our faith in the reality of our lives.  May we all hear that call.