The daily Word of God

October 28, 2024

Saint Simon and Saint Jude, apostles

Luke 6:12-16: From them Jesus chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles.

First Reading: Eph 2:19-22

Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 19:2-3, 4-5

R./ Their message goes out through all the earth.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.

R./ Their message goes out through all the earth.

Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.

R./ Their message goes out through all the earth.

Gospel Reading: Lk 6:12-16

At this time Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them whom he called apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

Stone upon stone

Today we are talking about houses. Or rather, house, in the singular. The word house in Hebrew (beyt) has a much greater meaning than a simple building. It is an extended family (the house of Israel, “all his house”), it is life (Bethesda: house of water; Bethlehem: house of bread), it is people. When Cornelius and “all his house” convert to Christianity, it is not a mere imposition of the father of the family; the personal identity is part of the identity as a people. The personal profession of faith is made in the context of a family, not in isolation. When Paul tells the Ephesians that “you are no longer strangers”, it is not just to give them a citizenship certificate, but he recognizes their belonging to the family, to the house, to their identity. And he goes even further: “We are the house of God, built, joined together, one stone upon another, a living stone. We add ourselves, we insert ourselves into Christ, the cornerstone of the whole building. “They are no longer strangers” is not just a plea for immigrants. It is something much deeper: it is a call to be part of the building, of the home, of the family, of life, of the house, of the people; not to be a stranger is to be part of the family: to be a house, to be a people. And this has lifelong consequences. To live now as a living stone is to be faithful to Christ’s message of salvation; it is discipleship and following. It is abiding in this life and this bread.

Therefore, Jesus’ call to the twelve is much more than an anecdote of “discipleship”. It is a complete change of identity. These twelve (including the one who would betray him, who denied himself) are now something else: they are part of this “house”. And they are a very important part: they are the twelve of the house of Israel; they are the pillars of that house. Therefore, Judas’ betrayal is a terrible wound, not only for Judas himself, but for the whole house. A terrible wound that must be repaired immediately after the death of Jesus. The house must be complete: with its twelve apostolic pillars and with all its living stones. We are not strangers.

 

Carmen Aguinaco

FEAST OF STS. SIMON AND JUDE, Apostles

Introduction

Little is know 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.

Opening Prayer

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.

General Intercessions

- For the pope, that he may lead the Church in faith, wisdom and mercy, we pray:

- For our bishops, that united with the pope they may see and attend to the great needs of the Church in our day, we pray:

- For those who are afraid to answer the call of God to follow Christ to serve the people of God, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
in the name of Jesus, your Son,
your ministers and people offer to you
the memorial of his death and resurrection.
Let us, sinful as we are, be your holy people,
that we may bear witness to your name
and be a believable sign to all
that your Son lives
and that you are our mighty God and Father,
now and for ever.

Prayer after Communion

Holy God and Father,
to us, your people on the way,
you have let your Son speak to us
his uplifting, inspiring word
and give us his food of strength.
Renew your Church in its leaders and members,
that we may live as we believe
and raise in our world a prophetic voice
that speaks with credibility
of justice, truth and unity.
May thus the world believe in your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

Jesus entrusts his own mission to weak and fallible human hand. "Entrusts," for he trusts them enough. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can do God's work. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.