Minor Festival -- St. Simon and St. Jude (October 28)

Worship Note for the Festival of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (October 28)

Lutheran worship is liturgical.  While that often refers to an order of worship, it can also refer to the calendar of the Church Year.  The Church Year includes major festivals, such as Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, etc...  On Sunday, October 28, we recognize a minor festival: The Festival of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles.

St. Simon is better known as Simon the Zealot.  The Zealots were more political than religious, eager to get the Romans out of Israel’s land.  By choosing Simon as an apostle, Jesus teaches us that one is not excluded from salvation because of his politics.  Rather, the Lord calls all to be part of a greater Kingdom.  Jude was also known as Judas (not to be confused with Judas Iscariot) or Thaddaeus.  The only mention of either of these two apostles, other than being mentioned in the listing of apostles, is Jude asking Jesus a question (John 14:22).  

          Although each served the Lord almost in anonymity (the epistle of Jude was likely written by a different Jude), tradition says that each served and preached the gospel around the world.  Tradition also says that each was finally martyred – Simon by crucifixion, Jude not specified.