Monday, October 28, 12:00 pm: Holy Eucharist for St. Simon and St. Jude (transferred)
Join us to commemorate this feast day with a simple Holy Eucharist in the church at 12:00 p.m. All are welcome. Because St. Simon and St. Jude's Day (October 27) falls on a Sunday this year, it is transferred to the following day, Monday, October 28.
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Many people in the Bible have shared names. There are several Jameses, several Johns, several Marys, and even several Jesuses!
This week we commemorate two apostles, each of whom shared a name with another one who was more famous. We commemorate not Simon Peter, but Simon the Zealot; and not Judas Iscariot, but Judas son of James.
We know little about these two other than what we can glean from their names in the lists of apostles. Simon the Zealot had apparently previously been a member of the Zealots, a revolutionary movement aimed at overthrowing Roman occupation of Judea. Judas son of James, as he is named in Luke, is called Thaddeus by Mark and Matthew. Because of the stigma attached to the name of Judas Iscariot, his name was shortened by English-speakers to Jude. He is not generally thought to be the person who wrote the New Testament book by the same name.
Simon the Zealot became considered a patron saint for leatherworkers, while Jude has become the patron saint of lost causes. Still today we sometimes see classified ads in which people thank St. Jude for an answer to some desperate prayer.
While often we commemorate well-known saints whose deeds echo to this day, it is good sometimes to commemorate those who were close to Jesus, yet about whom we know so little. It reminds us that true greatness is not about fame, but about faithfulness.
St. Simon and St. Jude's Day officially falls on October 28, but because that is a Saturday this year, we will keep the feast on Friday, the 27th.
Image: St. Simon and St. Jude, from the Modena Book of Hours, AD 1390
Tags: News & Notes / Worship Services
