Sts. Simon and Jude
There must be over fifty thousand Screaming love and more for you. And everyone of fifty thousand
Would do whatever you asked them to.
Keep them yelling their devotion, But add a touch of hate at Rome. You will rise to a greater power. We will win ourselves a home.
Neither you, Simon, nor the fifty thousand, Nor doomed Jerusalem itself Understand what power is,
Understand what glory is, Understand at all.
-Jesus Christ, Superstar
This week, the Catholic Church remembers two lesser known apostles, Simon and Jude. We know little to nothing about them from the Scriptures.
Both are mentioned in the lists of apostles in the gospels, but there are few stories about them, if any. Legend has it that they were a team preaching the gospel and that they traveled to Persia and Ar- menia. According to the same legend, they were both martyred around 65 A.D. As we will see, it is somewhat ironic that we celebrate these two now, with all the turmoil in the Holy Land.
In two of the gospels, Simon is referred to as a Zealot, possibly to distinguish him from Simon Pe- ter. So, what was a Zealot? The Zealots were a Jewish sect that represented the extreme of Jewish nationalism. The promise of the Messiah 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—the very domination of the Ro- mans—was a blasphemy against God. The Zealots were spiritual descendants of the Maccabees, seek- ing independence from foreign occupiers. Their style was militaristic. They raided and killed, attack- ing both foreigners and “collaborating” Jews. They began a rebellion against Rome which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. As with most history, there is a debate about whether Simon was a member of this party, but it worked for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice when they put together Jesus Christ, Superstar. (Simon’s song is quoted above.)
St. Jude is also known as Thaddeus in the Scriptures, once again, possibly to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. Thaddeus may have been his nickname as well. (As you may guess, some Scripture scholars reject this. See Fr. Sam- son for further information.) St. Jude is known as the patron saint of hopeless causes. So, where did that come from?
This practice is said to stem from the belief that few Christians invoked him for misplaced fear of praying to Christ’s betrayer, Judas Iscariot, because of their similar names. The ignored Jude thus supposedly became quite eager to assist anyone who sought his help, to the point of interceding in the direst of circumstances.
As I said, it is somewhat ironic that we celebrate these apostles now as war is breaking out in the Middle East. You could make an argument that this conflict arose initially because of the dispersion of the Jewish nation after the fall of Jerusalem due to the rebellion of the Zealots. And if there was ever a “hopeless cause” the on-going brutality in the region certainly qualifies. The plaintive and mournful lyrics of “Poor Jerusalem” (quoted at the beginning of this article) have taken on for me a new poignancy and heartbreak. The battle waged millennia ago has continued to rage and we can only hope that bold and courageous persons of both justice and peace rise up to help us see and understand what real power and glory is all about.
With that in mind: Sts. Simon and Jude, Pray for us!
The feast of Sts. Simon and Jude is Saturday, October 28th.
I will be away for a couple of days. As you all know by now, my pilgrimage to the Holy Land has been canceled. But I had already paid for my plane ticket to Houston and so I decided to go and visit my cousin and her parish. I hope to meet with the pil- grims and we will definitely pray for peace. I will be back by the middle of the week.
Father Kevin