What Was Judas Thaddeus Thinking?

What Was Judas Thaddeus Thinking?

Good Morning Friends,

Yesterday’s devotional, perhaps in error, noted that Thaddeus the brother of James and John never wrote a letter included in the Bible, and though I am no expert on the matter of authorship, it does seem to me in retrospect that the book of Jude might qualify. Part of the problem was that I did not include Thaddeus’ first name in the devotional…Jude. Saint Jude is the patron of Impossible Causes and Desperate Situations for my Catholic friends. And one of my friends, David, (who is not hopeless as all) pointed out to me that it is possible that Saint Jude was the apostle who carried the burial Shroud of Christ out of Jerusalem to Edessa, thus beginning its journey to its eventual resting place in Turin.  So to clear up the confusion, Jude was called Lebbaeus and surnamed Thaddeus, a brother of James, brother also of John and son of Zebedee. He was also referred to as Judas, but not the one who betrayed Jesus. So as penance for the confusion, today’s scripture is the book of Jude. Interestingly, the book was going to be about our common salvation but instead turned out to be a response to a crisis. A crisis we even have today. And so today’s contemplation: What Was Judas Thaddeus Thinking?

Scripture: 1Jude,^* a servant^* of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, who are beloved^* in^* God the Father and kept safe for^* Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance. 3 Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. ⁴For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.^*5 Now I desire to remind you, though you are fully informed, that the Lord, who once for all saved^* a people out of the land of Egypt, afterwards destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶And the angels who did not keep their own position, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deepest darkness for the judgement of the great day. ⁷Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust,^* serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in the same way these dreamers also defile the flesh, reject authority, and slander the glorious ones.^*
9But when the archangel Michael contended with the devil and disputed about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a condemnation of slander^* against him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’ ¹⁰But these people slander whatever they do not understand, and they are destroyed by those things that, like irrational animals, they know by instinct. ¹¹Woe to them! For they go the way of Cain, and abandon themselves to Balaam’s error for the sake of gain, and perish in Korah’s rebellion. ¹²These are blemishes^* on your love-feasts, while they feast with you without fear, feeding themselves.^* They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted; ¹³wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved for ever. 14 It was also about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘See, the Lord is coming^* with tens of thousands of his holy ones, ¹⁵to execute judgement on all, and to convict everyone of all the deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’ ¹⁶These are grumblers and malcontents; they indulge their own lusts; they are bombastic in speech, flattering people to their own advantage. 17 But you, beloved, must remember the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; ¹⁸for they said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts.’ ¹⁹It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions. ²⁰But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to^* eternal life. ²²And have mercy on some who are wavering; ²³save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.^* 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, ²⁵to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.

Message: Ok the book of Jude may have been written after Judas Thaddeus suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut. And maybe it was written in his honor. What is clear though is that it was included in the Bible. What is clear is that there is a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital built out of the belief, commitment and hopelessness of Danny Thomas in partnership with others of Arab descent. I think that the writer of Jude thought that it would make a difference and in retrospect it has and here is why. You see the writer realized that holy living was the best witness to Christ and that sound theology was essential to have a good life. So when a growing number of people were clearly choosing to live a life that denied that Jesus was human and that we had no hope of being holy, the book of Jude was written. It is short…one of the shortest in the Bible…less than 500 words. It lifts up the power of our faith and it does not pull its punches. What Judas Thaddeus was thinking then was that what we believe matters. And the more we can believe the richer our faith…the more complete our healing. I imagine that what Jude was thinking was that it is a privilege to be moved by the Holy Spirit into action. I can relate to that and I imagine you can too.

Pray we realize that what Judas Thaddeus…Saint Jude was thinking was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Pray we stand up for Christ when others deny his Lordship. Pray we never settle for a cheap grace that offers forgiveness without repentance and communion without confession. Pray we believe and live a life that recognizes Jesus as Lord and Savior. Pray we are passionate about defending the truth. Pray we believe in the fullness of our faith that has been handed down through tradition. Pray we beware of false teachers who would flatter us to gain an advantage. Pray we beware of the enemy within. Pray we be vigilant. Pray we not pollute the gospel. Pray we pray for those who despair in their sins because they have not experienced the Holy Spirit.

Blessings,

John Lawson