Today, the Church honors Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles and Martyrs.
Orate pro nobis.
St. Simon and St. Jude were both Apostles of Jesus.
Jude, also called Thaddeus, is so named by Luke in his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles (originally a single book, later divided). Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus. He is not mentioned elsewhere individually in the Gospels, except where all the apostles are mentioned. Jude has the same name as Judas Iscariot. Evidently because of the disgrace of that name, it was later shortened to “Jude” in English translations of the Bible. In Church tradition, Jude is known for performing many miracles, and has a great following as “the saint of the impossible.” In Hebrew, his name is Yehudah, meaning “praised”, a popular name as it was the name of the founder of the tribe of Judah, Judah the son of Jacob and Leah, and by extension, the eponym of the Kingdom of Judah, the land of Judea, and the word Jew (Yehud).
In all probability, he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like almost all of his contemporaries, and was a farmer by trade.
At the Last Supper, Jude is mentioned specifically, asking Jesus:
“Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate,the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (St. John 14:22-27)
Saint Jude is credited with writing the Letter of Jude, a very short epistle preceding the Book of Revelation. Jude’s letter is wrought with exhortation to remain faithful to Christ and avoid false teachers encouraging lust and corruption, leading to damnation. He challenges the faithful to showing mercy and correction of those who have gone astray, saying, “Have mercy on some who are wavering ... snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 22-23).
Saint Jude was very possibly a relative of our Lord, referenced in Acts 1:13 and Luke 6:16 as “son of James” (the Just, the “brother of Jesus”), as opposed to James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John. [“Son” of James could also be translated here as “brother”] James the Just was the son of Alphaeus (who was probably brother to St. Joseph, the husband of Mary); therefore Jude, whether son or brother to James, probably was a cousin of Jesus. According to tradition, Jude was the son of Clopas, the brother of Joseph, and Mary Cleophus. Traditionally, Alpheus and Clopas are the same man. Tradition also whas it that Jude's father, Clopas, was martyred because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Jesus.
Simon is mentioned on all four lists of the apostles. On two of them he is called “the Zealot.” The Zealots were a Jewish sect that represented an extreme of Jewish nationalism. For them, the messianic promise of the Old Testament meant that the Jews were to be a free and independent nation. God alone was their king, and any payment of taxes to the Romans—in effect participating and funding the domination of the Romans—was a blasphemy against God. No doubt some of the Zealots were the spiritual heirs of the Maccabees, carrying on their ideals of religion and independence. They were fierce freedom fighters, often extreme, in that they not only raided and killed the Roman occupiers but also “collaborating” Jews. This would have put Simon at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Matthew, who, as a tax collector, was part of the Roman government. Only the love of Christ could unite two men who were so incredibly different.
The Zealots were among the many militaristic independence groups whose guerrilla tactics were chiefly responsible for the rebellion against Rome which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. Josephus wrote that 1.1 million people, the majority of them Jewish, were killed during the siege – a death toll he attributes to the masses having journeyed from around the Roman Empire and beyond for the celebration of Passover. Josephus goes on to report that after the Romans killed the armed and elderly people, 97,000 were enslaved. He goes on to say that of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 40,000 individuals survived, but were impoverished, injured, starving, and diseased, and the emperor let them to go wherever they chose, knowing that few would survive.
The most widespread tradition is that after proclaiming the gospel of Jesus in Egypt, Simon joined Jude in Persia and Armenia. In Beirut, Lebanon, both were martyred in 65 A.D.
O God, we thank you for the glorious company of the apostles, and especially on this day for Simon and Jude; and we pray that, as they were faithful and zealous in their mission to proclaim the gospel of Jesus to all peoples, so we may with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
