Why them?
October 28, 2023 - Saturday - Feast of Saint Simon and Jude
Luke 6:12-16
The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War (1940) in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the United Kingdom against the attacks by Germany’s air force. Among the 66 fighter squadrons engaged in that battle, one distinguished itself by the largest number of German aircraft being shot down. That squadron was a Polish squadron No. 303. The historians tell us that that fighter squadron was formed in July 1940 but its origin goes before the beginning of the war. The future extraordinary pilots were trained at the Polish Air Force Academy in Dęblin. Some of them were school dropouts, some of them were caught breaking the rules, and most of them came from poor backgrounds.
The election of the twelve apostles from the larger group of Jesus’ disciples is recorded in other Gospels as well, but the account of Luke includes additional information about Jesus’ prayer. Our Lord spent the night in prayer before choosing them. The Greek phrase provides us with an insight that Jesus was not talking but listening to God. Thus, the choice of the Twelve is the fruit of Jesus’ conversation with the Father. But, many of us are still puzzled and ask: Why were those particular twelve men chosen from among the others?
In the Old Testament, we are facing a similar question: why Israel was chosen from all the nations of the world as the people of God? The answer is - not because they were better than others; in the Bible, they are often portrayed as people with stony hearts and stiff necks. The twelve were not better than others either - perhaps they were the least qualified for the job. But as in the case of Israel, their election indicates God’s unmerited love. If these twelve can be transformed into men with passionate hearts for the salvation of the world then they can become the foundation of a new Israel. In the end, only one failed - Judas Iscariot, the rest became the pillars and the foundation stones of the Church.
Today, we do not know anything about the Polish pilots who participated in the Battle of Britain. The same can be said about the two apostles whose feast the Church celebrate today. They always appear at the end of the list just before Judas the traitor and one of them has the same name - Judas. According to a tradition known among the orthodox Christians, Simon was supposed to be that unnamed bridegroom at the wedding at Cana and after witnessing the miracle of the water which Jesus turned into wine, he became a zealous follower of Christ. And Judas, distinguished from Judas Iscariot by the additional name Thaddeus, known among English-speaking Christians as St. Jude became the patron saint of the impossible. The Church tradition tells us that both preached the Gospel among the Gentiles and both suffered martyrdom and so we invoke their powerful intercession today:
St. Simon and St. Jude, pray for us and the whole world. Amen.