“You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, . . . . . . . . . . . .”
Excerpt, First Reading, Monday 28th Oct 2024 – EPHESIANS 2:19-22.
So, saints, simply put are those who have passed on from this world and are believed to be in heaven.
That notwithstanding, at the early times of the Church, the followers of Jesus Christ who dedicated their time and life to the cause of Christianity also referred to themselves as saints.
It is in the light of the above☝️assertion that the Apostle Paul referred to the Ephesians (and by extension, us) as saints while addressing them that time.
Among those Ephesians of St Paul’s time, there must be some who were dubious with nefarious intentions, prostitutes, thieves as well as cheats, liars and gossips. There were also good as well as extremely pious people among them.
Together, these people bonded into a formidable force, bettered themselves and formed the Church that succeeded till this day, surviving well after 2,000 years.
The Apostle Simon was a Zealot, yet, Christ chose him and named him as one of his Apostles.
The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms.
Simon the Zealot’s primary intention of following Christ was with the Zealots’ intentions. Hoping that Christ’s proposed kingship was an earthly one and his reign shall dislodge the Romans.
Nevertheless, the teachings and ways of Christ were able to permeate Simon the Zealot and get him to adjust his expectations and bring them in sync with the mission of Christ Jesus.
My dear friend, if the supposed nefarious Ephesians as well as an anxious and dangerous Zealot like Simon can change their ways and today they are saints, we, too, have hope.
Christ called Paul while he was in the middle of sinning. Even while Simon the Zealot was still carrying a knife, Christ chose him to be one of his Apostles.
Dear friend, there mustn’t be any need for some unusual preambles or any theatrics that may herald our call for us to abandon our old ways and fall in sync with the saints.
Dear friend, today, and now might be the only time available. Use it wisely.
I pray the grace of God for us to permit His will to be realised in our life.
Have a fantastic day and a fulfilled week ahead folks.
#SAINTS_SIMON_AND_JUDE! #Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!
-Akase F. Agabo
28th Oct. 2024.