[stephenkhoo]

ZEAL MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY GRACE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: EPH 2:19-22; LK 6:12-19

We know very little about the two apostles, Simon and Jude. They are listed as the 10th and 11th apostles, just before Judas Iscariot. All we know about them is that Simon comes from Cana and is called the Zealot. He was certainly nationalistic and a revolutionary fighting to establish Israel as a political and religious state, free from the domination of the Romans. As for Jude Thaddeus, he is mentioned in John’s gospel when he asked Jesus the reason why he showed himself only to them and not to the world. Other than this reference to him, we have no information about him, as scholars tell us that the letter of Jude is not written by him. Nevertheless, tradition has cultivated a special devotion to him as the patron saint for the hopeless. Perhaps, this could be due to the fact that St Jude, who is also called Judas, is confused with Judas Iscariot who fell into despair and committed suicide.

It is interesting to note that Judas Iscariot was mentioned immediately after the two of them. Perhaps, in Judas we see the characters clearer, namely, that of zeal and the need for grace. Judas, as we know in scripture, was very impatient with Jesus. Some scholars suggest that he wanted Jesus to act quickly to bring about the establishment of the kingdom. To provoke Jesus into acting, he betrayed Jesus to his enemies. At the same time, when his plan failed, Judas fell into hopelessness. He could not forgive himself.

So what we can learn from these two apostles is that of the need for zeal and grace to work together. We are called to imitate St Simon in his conviction, zeal and passion in changing the status quo and restoring the kingdom of Israel. Certainly, we must be zealous in our ministry and be passionate about it. However, we must be careful that we do not become over ambitious, taking things into our own hands and try to bring about change by force.

Indeed, this is the temptation of Church leaders, clerical or lay. Quite often, they are impatient with those in authority for not taking action fast enough. At the other end of the spectrum, there are leaders who cannot wait for people to adapt to the new situation. They can act harshly and rashly, hurting those who are struggling to adapt to change. When we act in this manner, we are relying too much on our own strength. We fail to realize that hard work alone is not sufficient to bring about the kingdom. Using force is counterproductive. We need to rely on the power of grace, that is, prayers, compassion and patient dialogue to win hearts and minds.

Indeed, in the gospel today, we see Jesus coming down from the mountain after spending a whole night in prayer and then selecting his twelve apostles. Objectively speaking, it seems that He did not make a good choice. The twelve people He chose were, in human reckoning, of dubious character and simply cannot work together. In fact, they were always fighting among themselves. But after the resurrection, after encountering the mercy of Christ whom they abandoned, they were willing to give up their lives for Jesus and be humble in service.

This is true of many of our Church leaders. Many of them are bright and intelligent but they get overly self-confident and arrogant. They look down on others and are too proud to listen to other opinions. On the other hand, they are opinionated and want everyone to agree with them. Often, they are ambitious and manipulative. They always want the limelight and to be the best. Ironically, there are others who are not so intelligent and talented but they have a good heart. Such people, although lacking in talents and in theological knowledge, often touch more lives and change more hearts than the supposedly eloquent, talented and influential people. Clearly, in them we see the power of God’s grace at work in their lives. God shows His power in human weakness.

Hence, today, we need not feel hopeless like Judas Iscariot when things do not turn out the way we desire, or when our plans and ideas are rejected. We must continue with the zeal of Simon the Zealot, work hard and continue to find opportunities to share our plans and knowledge. When the time is right, God will use them accordingly. In the meantime, we need to pray to Jude Thaddeus so that we will always rely on grace and never give up hope. We must pray for patience for His grace to work. The spread of the Good News is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit.

So let us pray like Jesus. We are called in the first place to make Jesus as our foundation stone on which to build our ministry. Being with Jesus and being intimate with Him comes before everything else in the ministry and in our apostolate. Everything else is secondary. Our first calling is to be with Jesus. Indeed, because Jesus spent time with God alone, “power came out of him” that cured them all. Only with faith in Jesus through prayer can we persevere, especially when we are under trials or when things do not turn out the way we want them to. Through our union with Him and in Him, we “are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh