The gospel for today’s Feast of St. Simon and Jude is the simple list of the Apostles as given in the Gospel of Luke. Early Christian writers and later stories link Simon and Jude as missionary partners, evangelizing together in Persia (modern Iran) or Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) where they suffered martyrdom together. For this reason, their feast days were merged very early on.
On this feast day, my attention was drawn to the first reading: “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.” (Eph 2:19-20) Specifically, I thought about the way St. Paul used the term foundation. In 1 Cor 3:11, St. Paul writes: “for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.” And what are we to make of Matthew 16:18 – “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” That sounds pretty foundational.
It caught my attention because of the way different Christian denominations understand and misunderstand the Scriptural use of the same word as well as the broader metaphor of “building” the spiritual life in Christ. Consider 1 Peter 2:5 – “...like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” The “spiritual house” clearly needs a foundation.
In New Testament writings we see the foundation described in Ephesians as the Apostles (New Covenant witnesses of Christ’s resurrection) and the Prophets (usually understood either as Old Testament prophets or Christian prophets active in the early Church). In this view the foundation represents the historical and revelatory basis upon which the Church is built. Christ is the keystone or cornerstone, the essential aligning and sustaining element. The Apostles and Prophets are the human instruments through whom the divine revelation and structure of the Church are communicated.
Other scripture points to Christ as the only foundation: “According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 3:10-11) Here, Christ himself is the sole and irreplaceable foundation and the subsequent building (the Church’s growth and ministries) is built upon that foundation. Whereas Ephesians emphasizes apostolic tradition and continuity, Corinthians stresses Christ’s primacy.
In the letter to the Hebrews we read: “Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God, instruction about baptisms and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.” (Heb 6:1-2). Here, the foundation is doctrinal, not personal. It refers to the basic tenets of Christian faith and practice. The metaphor casts the foundation as the core teaching that allows growth toward spiritual maturity.
In the Book of Revelation we read: “The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” (Rev 21:14) This usage takes the eschatological image of the new Jerusalem as permanently built upon the apostolic foundation. Christ is the Lamb, but the Apostles are the named foundational stones — indicating the enduring authority and witness of apostolic teaching in the Church’s eternal form.
What does this all mean? It is what the Catholic Church has always proclaimed: the ultimate foundation of the Church is Christ Himself — the one in whom revelation, salvation, and unity originate. In his human lifetime Jesus was the means of communication, the teaching, eschatological fulfillment and “continuity.” After his death and resurrection, the foundation in the world rests on the teachings and story of Jesus, but now continuity is dependent upon the sure transmission of the faith via the Apostles and those appointed by them. This apostolic foundation refers to the instrumental mediation of the revelation of Jesus. They are the foundation through whom Christ’s word and authority are transmitted. They are the foundation in witness and structure.
The Church is the sure means by which you “...like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Image credit: Flevit super illam (He wept over it) | Enrique Simonet (1892) | Museo del Prado, Madrid | Wikimedia Creative Commons | PD-US