ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND! WHAT OF YOU?

⏰Feast of Ss. Simon and Jude (28 Oct. 2017)

????Eph 2:19-22; Ps 19:1-2, 3-4ab (R.v.4a); Luke 6:12-19

????ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND! WHAT OF YOU?

Have you ever taken out time to reflect on the life of the Apostles of Jesus, before and after their call? Most of them could be considered as the nonentities of the society. There are even some whose lives could be best termed “less than nothing and emptiness.” Ss. Simon and Jude fall within that category.

Most accounts of the lives of Ss. Simon and Jude available to us show that not much is known about them. Even in one of the very little places they were mentioned in the Gospels, one of them, Simon was one of the street touts, a reactionary (cf. Matt 10:4).

Yet, with Christ’s transforming grace, they became great men among the people. Tradition holds it that both men suffered martyrdom for the sake of the Gospel in Persia and Armenia.

You see! Nobody encounters Christ and remains ever the same. The apostles were “nobodies” but if we can apply the prophetic words of the psalmist to them, “Their sound goes forth through all the earth” (Ps 19:4).

St Paul reminds us, the neo-Ephesians that we are part of the structure that is built upon Christ, the cornerstone for the dwelling of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:19-22).

That is a wonderful privilege that comes with great responsibility and awesome grace. Faithfulness is required of all who are called into that relationship with Christ and great signs shall accompany them, “…they will cast out demons…pick up snakes in their hands and, if they drink anything poisonous, they will not be hurt…” (Mark 16:17-18).

May our constant effort to remain connected with Christ win us a place in him and prepare a place for him in us so that we might be accompanied with those wonderful signs that accompany believers. May we also rejoice at last to find our names written in heaven at last (Luke 10:20). Amen.

I wish you a grace-filled and restful weekend. Peace be with you.