Simon and Jude. If only we had some good stories about them, though they might be a bit cooked-up, as stories of the saints sometimes tend to be. That could at least supply us with some moral example material. "Now you go and be like St. Simon and/or St. Jude." Sorry, it is pretty much a blank. So what are we to make of St. Simon and St. Jude?
We can't get it much more backward than by asking that question. Wrong question. The only good question is the one the Lord has, in fact, given us answers to. What did He make of Simon and Jude? Here we are on solid ground. The Lord made them apostles. Simon and Jude are named in the list. They were there when He instituted the Holy Ministry, Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, and Holy Absolution. Not only where they there, they were instituted themselves as apostles into the office of the holy ministry. No uncertainty - they are unmistakably identified: Simon the Zealous - not Simon Peter - and Jude, which is better than Judas. -- Dr. Norman Nagel, Selected Sermons, pp. 300, 301.
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