Thoughts for the Day

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, who are beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance

Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ....

But you, beloved, must remember the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; for they said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts.’ It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions. But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on some who are wavering; save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Simon and Jude were named among the twelve Apostles in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Simon is called 'the Zealot', probably because he belonged to a nationalist resistance movement opposing the Roman occupation forces.

Luke describes Jude as the son of James, while the letter of Jude has him as the brother of James. It seems he is the same person as Thaddaeus, which may have been a last name. John's gospel identifies him as "Judas, but not Judas Iscariot. However owing to the similarity of his name to that of Judas Iscariot, asking him to intercede in prayer in the early Church was seen as a final resort when all else failed. He became known, therefore, as the patron saint of lost causes.

Simon appears to have gone to Egypt and then to have joined Jude in Persia where the two apostles spread the news about Jesus before they were martyred for their faith.

These two Apostles should help us to be thankful for those lesser-known Disciples who helped to spread the Gospel around the world in such a short space of time. They exemplified courage, commitment and sacrifice for their faith, and many were martyred, often at the instigation of groups who saw them as a threat. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude, for without their work in establishing the Church we might not have been free to choose to follow Jesus.

The Collect

Almighty God,
who built Your Church upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets,
with Jesus Christ as the chief corner-stone:
so join us together in unity of spirit by their doctrine,
that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to You;
through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.
Amen.