Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles

The Collect of the Day

O God, we thank you for the glorious company of the apostles, and especially on this day for Simon and Jude; and we pray that, as they were faithful and zealous in their mission, so we may with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Psalm

119:89-96

The Readings

Deuteronomy 32:1-4      +      Ephesians 2:13-22      +      John 15:17-27

In today's collect, we pray that, following the example of the holy apostles, "we may with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." What might this look like in your life?

For Moses, it meant a desire to have his teaching "drop like the rain . . . condense like the dew; like gentle rain on grass, like showers on new growth"--a beautiful image of the life-giving power of the word of God proclaimed.

For the psalmist, that same teaching--the law, the word of the Lord--was eternal, faithful, all-encompassing. As such, it was a source of delight to be enjoyed, but also a treasure to be mined, that the servant of the Lord might better proclaim God's greatness.

For Paul, the "ardent devotion" of those who proclaim the gospel is but a mirror of the great work of God in Christ, who "came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and to those who were near." Disciples of Jesus follow their Lord's example, and the life of Jesus is one of proclamation, in word and action, of the reconciling love of God that breaks down hostile divisions and makes all things new.

To the apostles gathered with Jesus on the night he was betrayed, Jesus told them of the coming of the Holy Spirit, "the Advocate" who would testify to the truth, and he charged them also to testify because they had been with him "from the beginning." The apostles knew Jesus, and were to proclaim the gospel based on that intimate knowledge that comes from personal relationship.

Consider your own desires, gifts, knowledge, and experience. How might God be calling you to proclaim the love and mercy of Jesus Christ with ardent devotion?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for the love and mercy you bring into our lives. Help us to know how to manifest that love and mercy in our own lives, that your gospel may be proclaimed to all we meet.
Amen.

Saint James of Jerusalem, Brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and Martyr

The Collect of the Day

Grant, O God, that, following the example of your servant James the Just, brother of our Lord, your Church may give itself continually to prayer and to the reconciliation of all who are at variance and enmity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Psalm

1

The Readings

Acts 15:12-22a      +      I Corinthians 15:1-11      +      Matthew 13:54-58

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. 
~ I Cor. 15:3-4

Though two of the twelve apostles bore the name James, the saint commemorated today is yet a third James, and arguably the most prominent of the three. Referred to by Paul in his letter to the Galatians as "the Lord's brother" and a "pillar" of the church, he is seen also in the book of Acts as a respected and reconciling leader of the church at Jerusalem, and is perhaps the author of the New Testament letter that bears his name. Despite these credentials, and his own familial relationship to Jesus, he seems not to have been a disciple until after the resurrection. Though Paul attests in today's reading from I Corinthians that the risen Lord appeared to James, he makes no appearance in the gospels except to be mentioned as one of Jesus' siblings.

It is important to note that after this powerful experience of the risen Lord, James became a member of the community of disciples, the church. His experience did not lead him to disregard association with other "lesser" disciples (i.e. any who had not experienced such an appearance) as beneath him. One occasionally hears of someone who has had (or claims) a life-altering experience of divine revelation, to whom the everyday foibles and petty disagreements of church life then seem to them as a delusion with which they need no longer concern themselves. For James, the effect of his experience was just the opposite--he entered fully into the life and leadership of the infant church, with all its challenges (and one needs only to read Paul's letters to get a sense of how messy church life was then--some things don't change much over the centuries).

James knew, as Paul knew, as all disciples of Christ come to know, that everything we have is a gift from God. We do not have anything that we have not received. And though the gifts are ultimately from God, they almost always come from the hand of another. Christian faith is never a solitary endeavor. For us today, we need only to reflect a moment (or a lifetime) on our own journey of faith to recognize that we have come this far in the company of others. No one enters the church alone--we are borne along the way by parents, godparents, friends, pastors, siblings, daughters and sons, and saints of ages past. Others have listened, written, preached, prayed, wrestled, received and handed on to us the message of salvation, which we receive by the gift of faith that comes from God. And it is God's pleasure to continue always to give, and to call us, who have received, to in turn pass on to others this life in Christ.
  

Closing Prayer

Lord God, you are the giver of every good gift, and we thank you. Thank you also for the faithfulness of all your servants who have blessed us along the way; give us wisdom, courage, and grace, to hold faithfully the gifts entrusted to us, that we may pass on to others the life we have received. Amen.

Saint Luke the Evangelist

The Collect of the Day

Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in your Church this love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Psalm

147:1-7

The Readings

Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 38:1-4, 6-10, 12-14    +     II Timothy 4:5-13    +     Luke 4:14-21

Do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

~ II Tim. 4:5

Luke, the traditional author of the Gospel that bears his name and its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles, is supposed also to have been a physician by trade (according to an attribution by Paul in his closing remarks to the Colossians). The readings for this day seek to emphasize this two-fold nature of Luke's identity: "beloved physician" and evangelist (lit., "preacher of the good news"). 

It's not difficult to hold together these two vocations--one seeks to heal the body, the other to proclaim total healing, body and soul. The gospel is good news because it announces the healing and wholeness God intends for us. This is how Jesus, quoting Isaiah, announces the inauguration of his ministry in Luke's Gospel:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

This holistic vision is at the center of the good news of Jesus Christ. We often have a tendency to set the physical and the spiritual in opposition to each other, but the gospel allows for no neglect--to prioritize either "soul-winning" or "outreach ministry" to the detriment of the other misses the totality of the healing that God offers. Our definition of evangelism is often too narrow. Evangelism is nothing less than the proclamation of God's healing of the world in and through Christ.

Such all-encompassing good news needs all kinds of messengers. It is not only "professional" evangelists, or those in the healing or helping professions, who have the responsibility of proclaiming this gospel. Paul was a tent-maker. Peter was a fisherman. All the saints, by virtue of our baptism, are called to do the work of an evangelist and to carry out our ministries fully.

     

Closing Prayer

Jesus, thank you for the healing you bring to our world. Help us to see you at work around us and within us. Help us to engage in our work in such a way that it may be a vehicle for proclaiming in varied and wonderful ways the good news of your salvation. Amen.