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| St. Jude is known as the saint of lost causes, but who do you turn to when your back is against the wall? |
Who
do you turn to? In a moment of desperation or despair who is it that you trust?
Do you have a go-to friend? For many of us it is probably our spouse that we
call upon. Perhaps we will contact a parent or a best friend that knows us
better than anyone else. What happens though when all of your trusted go-to
friends or family members are unable to fix your problem? Who do you turn to
when it is your last resort?
Today
is the Feast Day of Saints Simon and Jude. Allegedly these two Apostles
traveled with the Good News of Jesus all the way to Persia. In the process of
taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth they were martyred, or at least
that’s what legend holds. There exists little evidence of this, but who would
have been around to record what happened to them if they were killed on a
missionary journey in a foreign land? I wonder who they turned to as their last
resort? Before continuing to wonder about that it might be nice to know a
little bit about these two, but sadly the Church does not know much of their
lives.
Simon
does not appear often in the New Testament. He was called the Zealot and some
wonder if that meant he was actually a part of the Jewish movement by that name
or if he was just animated. Jude appeared more often than Simon. He was even
present at the Last Supper. And, though not all that popular himself he has a
connection to my question from earlier: Who do you turn to when it is your last
resort?
Jude
often gets called the patron saint of lost causes or the saint of last resort.
Why? Well, we in the Church are not completely sure, but many believe this has
to do with his name being so similar to Judas Iscariot’s name—the man who
betrayed Jesus into the hands of people who had him killed. Because of the
similarity in names we have changed Jude’s name in English to what we currently
call him from what he would have actually been called back then… Judas. If you
think it’s no big deal and that we ought not to have made this shift, just
think of all the Judases you know. This makes a little more sense in thinking
why Judas/Jude would be considered the saint of last resort. Let’s think about
this a little more deeply though.
Some
people are staunchly opposed to praying to a particular saint. They find that
to be dangerous in a number of ways. For one, it feels like trying to call in a
favor to a particular friend you are connected to at town hall or the state
capitol. Also, it may cause one to wonder are we praying to a saint instead of
to God? However, James Kiefer asks a cutting question as he wrote about the
saints whom we celebrate today: is asking a saint to help you out much
different than asking a friend to pray for you in a time of need?[1]
In the end it all depends on your intention.
The
question falls back upon two things for me. First, are we following the
commandment that we heard Jesus give in today’s Gospel lesson? Are we loving
one another? Are we asking a friend or a saint for help for the sake of
self-giving love or is it for our own benefit? A prayer who says, "Saint Jude be present with those
who are at their wits end by calling me into the loving service of Christ" is quite a
different than someone who says, "Saint Jude this is my last $5 help me hit the lotto!" Second,
what do we really think is happening here?
What
is prayer in the first place? God knows our desires before we state them. As
Christians we believe that Jesus is that direct mediator and advocate of the
Father, but does that mean we do not seek out the inspiration or help of those
who walk alongside us in this journey of Faith past, present, and yet to come? Do
we not want to dwell in unity with all those beings who live together in
the love of God? I believe we need all the help we can muster so to live into
the love God gives us and to share it with all whom we meet. So to pray
that saints show us the path to Jesus who unites us with the Father makes way
more sense than merely praying to a saint that we like because they have an inside track and we don't.
In conclusion, political connections do not exist in the life of God. Praying to a saint, instead of to God distances ourselves from the intimate, transcendent One. We
can though catch the gleam of Christ’s light reflecting off the lives of the
many saints throughout the years. Our hope is to share that light with
everyone. Our hope is to even reflect that light off of our own lives and into
the lives of others. Of course, we need others to help us on the way to the
eternal nearness of God. So whoever it is that you turn to as your last resort,
may your first, next, and only resort truly lead you to Jesus who is the source of the
light that shines in the lives of saints like Simon and Jude.
[1] Kiefer, James. "Simon and Jude." Mission of Saint Clare. October 25, 2017. http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Simon&Jude.htm (accessed October 25, 2017).
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