96 My Monologues & Musings :
Apostles: Simon & Jude
Dear Apostles, Simon and Jude,
Today, the 28th October, has been dedicated to your memory and honour. Though very little is known about you, lot of things are written about both of you. Some believe both of you are blood brothers!
Whether you are blood brothers or not it makes little difference for my reflections about you.
But the fact is:
That both of you were disciples of Jesus, your Rabbi and Lord.
But the fact is:
That both of you were trained and were transformed into his apostle.
That both of you were trained and were transformed into his apostle.
But the fact is:
That both of you travelled far and wide to preach the Gospel of your Lord and Master.
That both of you travelled far and wide to preach the Gospel of your Lord and Master.
But the fact is:
That both of you sacrificed your lives as martyrs for your Master.
That both of you sacrificed your lives as martyrs for your Master.
Dear Apostles Simon,
You were also called Simon the Zealot, right?
This would mean you were one of those of hard core patriotic Jews who hated the Romans occupying your land and ruling over your people.
You were one of those who actively advocated armed uprising against the mighty Roman Imperial Army in order to drive them out of your land, right?
You were one of those who actively advocated armed uprising against the mighty Roman Imperial Army in order to drive them out of your land, right?
By advocating armed rebellion, sure,
you were literally following the Mosaic Law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Though you knew you were no match for the well trained mighty Roman army, yet you tried the hit and tactics to harass the Romans.
Dear Apostle, Simon,
At some point of time;
You must heard of Jesus the Rabbi,
You must listened him preach,
You must have been drawn to his magnetic personality,
You must have been so to say mesmerised by his message, right?
And finally you followed him as you felt irresistible to his person as well as to his message, didn’t you?
Dear Apostle Simon,
I would really be honoured and consider myself fortunate if you could share with me your musings and about you and your Master,
you were literally following the Mosaic Law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Though you knew you were no match for the well trained mighty Roman army, yet you tried the hit and tactics to harass the Romans.
Dear Apostle, Simon,
At some point of time;
You must heard of Jesus the Rabbi,
You must listened him preach,
You must have been drawn to his magnetic personality,
You must have been so to say mesmerised by his message, right?
And finally you followed him as you felt irresistible to his person as well as to his message, didn’t you?
Dear Apostle Simon,
I would really be honoured and consider myself fortunate if you could share with me your musings and about you and your Master,
Won't you, please!
Simon:
“Sure, I would be glad to ..
I was born and brought up in a very staunch Jewish family in Cana. We were steeped in our ancestral religion and culture of which we are very proud indeed. It was really hurting us to see the foreign powers coming and plundering our land, desecrating our culture, and polluting our way of life based on the Thorah.
Simon:
“Sure, I would be glad to ..
I was born and brought up in a very staunch Jewish family in Cana. We were steeped in our ancestral religion and culture of which we are very proud indeed. It was really hurting us to see the foreign powers coming and plundering our land, desecrating our culture, and polluting our way of life based on the Thorah.
Now it's the turn of the brutal and barbaric Romans. Some of us want to resort to armed rebellion against the Roman and drive them out of our ancestral land. They were known as Zealots. Since many years our family has been active participants with the group.
So we are Zealots.
When I was going around as an ardent supporter of the Zealot movement
I had heard of Jesus the itinerant Rabbi.
It was on my wedding day, I saw him and met him for the first time. Our family had invited his mother and him, as they were distant relations from nearby Nazareth.
When I was going around as an ardent supporter of the Zealot movement
I had heard of Jesus the itinerant Rabbi.
It was on my wedding day, I saw him and met him for the first time. Our family had invited his mother and him, as they were distant relations from nearby Nazareth.
His disciples were also invited.
Then he performed the miracle of turning water into wine and saved us from a severe embarrassing situation!
I thanked him and we talked a great deal.
Slowly but steadily I became one of his ardent admirers.
His preaching and his parables, his compassionate commitment to the sinners,to the sick, to the poor, and his zeal for the Kingdom did irresistibly draw me to him as well as to his message.
To make the long story short, I find myself joining him and becoming one of his full time followers!
Then he performed the miracle of turning water into wine and saved us from a severe embarrassing situation!
I thanked him and we talked a great deal.
Slowly but steadily I became one of his ardent admirers.
His preaching and his parables, his compassionate commitment to the sinners,to the sick, to the poor, and his zeal for the Kingdom did irresistibly draw me to him as well as to his message.
To make the long story short, I find myself joining him and becoming one of his full time followers!
He had become:
my Hero,
my Master and
my Messiah.
His arrest, his condemnation, and his crucifixion threw me and many of us into utter confusion and total disappointment. Then to our surprise on the third day of his death, he resurrected from his tomb.
Along with many others i accepted him as my Saviour and my Lord!
Since then I had been a Zealot the Saviour! It was with this zeal for him which took me all around, to Egypt, and from there to Persia. It was a joy to have gone through innumerable trials and troubles for my Saviour and for my Lord and for spreading of his message.”
Thank you, dear Apostle Simon,
How I wish to have your zeal and your commitment for Jesus my Saviour and my Lord.
Dear Apostle Simon,
From hating your enemies with vengeance you were transformed into loving them and caring for them, right?
The Lord who transformed wine into water, the very same Lord transformed the Zealot in you into a zealous Apostle, right?
His arrest, his condemnation, and his crucifixion threw me and many of us into utter confusion and total disappointment. Then to our surprise on the third day of his death, he resurrected from his tomb.
Along with many others i accepted him as my Saviour and my Lord!
Since then I had been a Zealot the Saviour! It was with this zeal for him which took me all around, to Egypt, and from there to Persia. It was a joy to have gone through innumerable trials and troubles for my Saviour and for my Lord and for spreading of his message.”
Thank you, dear Apostle Simon,
How I wish to have your zeal and your commitment for Jesus my Saviour and my Lord.
Dear Apostle Simon,
From hating your enemies with vengeance you were transformed into loving them and caring for them, right?
The Lord who transformed wine into water, the very same Lord transformed the Zealot in you into a zealous Apostle, right?
Oh, Jesus, My Lord and My God,
You know very that there a Zealot in me,Don't You?
I want the Zealot in me to be transformed into zealous follower of you!
I want to keep trying everyday.
I want to restart all over again whenever I fall and fail.
I know it's a long and lonely way ahead!
I want to keep on despite my failures!
….. ……. …….
Dear Apostle Jude,
They say you are related to the Lord as you were counted as one of the ‘brethren’ of Jesus.
Maybe you were one of his cousins.
You must have felt horrible as you were stuck with the stigma of your namesake: Judas Iscariot, did you?
You keep giving the impression of a genial and gentle person unlike Simon your companion. In a sense, both of you compliment each other with your different qualities and characteristics, right?
You are venerated as the patron of the Impossible Causes and Hopeless Cases.
As you know, lots and lots of faithful approach you with their worries and wishes, with the popular Novena devotion to you!
Your blessings bring much solace and comfort to them.
How I wish to be genial and gentle like you to my fellow humans!
I have often been rude and rash in my dealings with them. I have been haughty and arrogant towards many!
Oh, Jesus,My Lord and My God,
May the zeal of Simon and gentleness of Jude keep on inspiring me.
May their devotion and dedication to spread your message of merciful love and compassionate forgiveness be a constant source of inspiration in my daily life and activities.
Oh, Jesus, My Lord and My God,
Thank you for giving us your Apostles Simon and Jude as a shining and strong source of inspiration and strength.
Oh,My Lord and My God,
Bless all your children who bear the names of Simon and Jude.
Bless all the churches and institutions who bear their name.
Oh, Jesus, My Lord and My God,
Thank you for Your:
Unconditional Love of me!
Unending Patience with me!
Untold Forgiveness for me!
Amen
JoAchen
Wednesday, 28th October, 2015
On Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude
Joachenmonologues@gmail.com
Dear Reader,
These Reflections are a part of my Journaling as the prodigal son and the prodigal priest in me trying to keep returning to the Home of our Heavenly Father. As I keep holding you in my daily prayers, I request you to include me in yours.
Thank you!
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