Luke 6:12-16

Ephesians 2:19-22

Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5

Luke 6:12-16

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,

and he spent the night in prayer to God.

When day came, he called his disciples to himself,

and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:

Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,

James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,

Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,

Simon who was called a Zealot,

and Judas the son of James,

and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, bring me more deeply into the unity of your family, the Church. Guide my actions, thoughts, and prayers so that I may imitate your Son’s holy Apostles. Help me overcome evil in my life and in my community, and extend your reign in the world around me.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Three Tasks of an Apostle: Today’s liturgy for the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude is an invitation to meditate on the vocation of an apostle, the makeup of the community of the apostles, and some of the themes contained in the Letter of Jude. The Gospel of Luke indicates that an Apostle was someone chosen by Jesus after prayerful dialogue with God the Father. We learn in the Gospel of Mark that the Apostles were chosen for three tasks (Mark 3:13-15). The first task of an apostle is to be with Jesus, to center their lives on him, and to live with him. This leads not only to imitation of Jesus but also to identification with him. Second, an apostle is sent out to preach. The message of an Apostle is the same as that of Jesus Christ – the Kingdom of God. When the Apostles proclaim the Kingdom of God, they proclaim God’s dominion and lordship. They proclaim the mystery of Jesus Christ, who came to save us and dwell with and in us. And they are proclaiming the mystery of the Church as the beginning and seed of the Kingdom. In brief, they proclaim God’s plan for humanity: “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life” (CCC, 1). Third, an apostle is given authority to cast out demons. This means especially overcoming the power of evil and the reign of the devil with the sacramental power of the Kingdom of God.

2. The Makeup of the Community of the Apostles: The Gospel of Luke tells us that the Apostle Simon was called a Zealot. Pope Benedict remarked that even if Simon “was not exactly a member of the nationalist movement of Zealots, he was at least marked by passionate attachment to his Jewish identity, hence, for God, his people, and divine Law” (Benedict XVI, October 11, 2006). The Pope notes that if this was Simon’s case, he was worlds apart from Matthew, who worked as a tax collector for the Romans. What this shows us is that Jesus called his disciples and collaborators from the most varied backgrounds. “It was people who interested him, not social classes or labels! And the best thing is that in the group of his followers, despite their differences, they all lived side by side, overcoming imaginable difficulties: indeed, what bound them together was Jesus himself, in whom they all found themselves united with one another” (Benedict XVI, October 11, 2006). This is an invitation to all of us not to give into the temptation of superficial labels and promoting polarizing divisions within the Church: conservative vs. liberal; doctrinal vs. pastoral; traditional vs. progressive; sacramental vs. missionary; and so on. Unity is not uniformity. Like the Apostles, though, we are called to be of one mind and heart, united in Christ and through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14).

3. The Letter of Jude: The Letter of Jude tells us something about him as an Apostle: one of his main concerns was that Christian communities fight for the true faith against deceivers (Jude 3-4); he cautioned against those who introduce division into the Church (Jude 8); he desired that Christians deepen in their understanding of apostolic doctrine (Jude 2); he appealed that Christians wait prayerfully and patiently for the Lord; and he gave instruction to steady the faith of those who wavered in doubt and were overcome by deception. Jude goes so far as to compare those who spread false doctrine to the fallen angels and those who walk in the way of Cain (Jude 11). On the night of the Last Supper, Jude learned the importance of encountering the Risen Christ: “The Lord does not appear as a thing. He desires to enter our lives, and therefore his manifestation is a manifestation that implies and presupposes an open heart. Only in this way do we see the Risen One” (Benedict XVI, October 11, 2006). Saints Simon and Jude, then, not only offer us a model of Christian unity but also exhort us to deepen in this mystery by welcoming Jesus into our lives. They intercede before God for us, asking that we may see the Risen One with eyes of faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the love of God, and wait for the mercy of Jesus Christ unto eternal life (Jude 20-22).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me to imitate your apostles today. Show me where I can spend more quality time with you. Send me out to extend your kingdom. Vanquish any evil in my heart, my family, and my community.

Living the Word of God: How can I be an apostle of unity and charity rather than a cause of division? Do I need to improve in the art of dialogue to find common values, understand the experiences and concerns of the other person, and be able to mutually correct errors in truth and charity?