Feast Day of Two Apostles
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast Day of two Saints, Simon and Jude, both of whom were amongst the original 12 Apostles chosen by Jesus, as was described in today’s scripture reading taken from Luke, Chapter Six, verses 12 to 16, in which all the 12 names were mentioned in detail, from Peter to Judas. Let me share some thoughts I had taken from my favourite priest, Rev. Father Robert Ng.
Traditionally, the 12 Apostles were named from Simon the fisherman whom Jesus named as Peter meaning the rock and who became the head of the Church after Jesus ascended to Heaven. After Peter, we had his brother Andrew, followed by James and John and the twelfth was Judas Iscariot who became the traitor. Traditionally, today’s two saints, Simon and Jude were named the tenth and eleventh apostles or disciples. There were preciously very little to no information in the New Testament on either of the two apostles, except that Simon was known as the zealot, who according to Robert, would be the equivalent of a social activist in today’s parlance and whose political standpoint would be diametrically opposite to that of someone pro-establishment such as his fellow apostle Matthew who was a tax collector. Indeed, the background of all the apostles whom Jesus had chosen were so diverse and vastly different from one another, from their trade and occupation down to their socio-economic details. But Jesus had brought them all together, for one single purpose, which was to spread the Gospel, which they all did in their each and own way.
Robert also urged us to note how Jesus had taken the decision. Jesus had gone to the mountain to pray to God all night, and only called on the twelve when it was day. Such is the powerfulness and importance of prayers.
While the Bible did not have specific references on how the 12 Apostles ended their lives, except that Judas committed suicide and that James was executed by King Herod, the Church’s traditions had been that apart from John the Evangelist who died a natural and peaceful death, all the other ten – except Judas who committed suicide – were martyred. Today’s two Saints Simon and Jude, for example, were reputedly martyred in Persia.
The theology of martyrdom is the Christian theological understanding of death endured for one’s faith, viewing it as the ultimate “witness” to Christ. (The English word “martyr” comes from the Greek word martyras, which means witness) It is an imitation of Christ’s own self-emptying and suffering, and a belief that martyrdom demonstrates a steadfast love for God that prioritizes faith over worldly life. This concept is deeply rooted in the early church, which saw martyrdom as the highest form of discipleship and a means of solidifying community identity and growth. (Source: AI Overview)
Christians traditionally go on pilgrimages, normally led by priests as their spiritual directors. Over the years, I had followed Robert to a few, including the El Camino trip in 2012, which was meant to be relaxing and expeditious, which I had described in my first memoir and which Su couldn’t join because of other necessities. Earlier on, I had also joined Robert to Korea – possibly in 2005 – for a pilgrimage, visiting sites where the early Christians in Korea were martyred in rather cruel and spectacular ways. In 2006, I went to Lourdes twice, including once with Robert and had very rewarding and memorable experiences. I also joined Robert to trace part of the St Paul’s route to Athens and visited some ruins. But that was all sometime back. Like what Robert once said to me, that Christians should go on pilgrimages as often as they could. Indeed, he had asked me to encourage Su to make such trips when she could, but so far it had not happened yet. It reminded me of something the late Rev. Father Deignan had said to me in a conversation in the mid-Nineties, in response to my question on why Rosita had yet to be converted to Christianity, “Maybe we haven’t worked or prayed hard enough.” (Page 520 of The Middle Child – A First Memoir by John Wan) Which again is a reminder that one should learn to pray hard and long, as the Bible told us what Jesus did before taking hard decisions.
We had had two back to back concerts on Sunday and Monday, both rather enjoyable. Su had posted some notes somewhere. I would settle for a photo or two.
Tomorrow is Chung Yeung Festival. I wish all of you out there a cool and restful day with your loved ones, alive or otherwise.
