Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose…Simon who was called a Zealot. (Lk 6:12-15)
Out of all twelve Apostles, perhaps it is Simon—whose feast we celebrate today (along with that of St. Jude)—about whom the Gospels reveal the least amount of information. Even today’s liturgical reading selected to reflect his life is both short and scant. What does this tell us? It tells us that the Lord has provided us with just enough information about Simon’s life to bring the light of understanding to our own.
St. Simon has no specific stories associated with him in Scripture, other than it mentioning that he was physically present for certain events. For most of these events, it is only an assumed participation, as Scripture references “the Twelve” without specifying or singling out Simon by name. Scripture scholars are not even certain whether Simon was referred to as the “Zealot” because he was a member of a particular religious sect that bore that name, or if it was because he had a unique “zeal” for Christ. The only information we know about St. Simon with certainty is that he was chosen by God and that not a single word was recorded from his lips.
That certainly doesn’t tell us a whole lot—and yet, eternally speaking, it is everything we need to know about Simon the Zealot. So instead of looking at what Scripture doesn’t tell us, let’s look at what it does.
For one thing, as chosen Apostle of Christ, we know that Simon was one of the men who followed Jesus’s Great Commission: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19). Simon was responsible—no less than Peter, James, John, and the rest—for building the foundation of the early Church. How do we know this? Because Jesus didn’t choose only Peter, James, and John to build and guide His Church. He chose an additional nine men. Jesus would have done nothing without purpose or need, and therefore if he chose twelve Apostles, it is because He had a purpose and a plan for all twelve Apostles! Without Simon, therefore, the plan of the early Church would not have come to fruition, at least not in the same way.
We can only speculate as to what it was about Simon that provided a need that would not have been fulfilled without him…but perhaps his name gives us a clue. If the title “Zealot” has stayed with him centuries after his passing from this life, we can only imagine that it was his unique zeal that made all the difference in the Church. Without those cheerleaders in our lives encouraging us and saying, “You got this! You can do it!” it is often the case that our own discouragement will convince us to give up and give in.
Perhaps it was Simon who encouraged Peter in his role as leader, a job for which Peter must have felt unqualified and unworthy. Perhaps it was Simon who continually reminded the others of the Lord’s promise as they waited day after day in the Upper Room. Perhaps it was Simon who insisted most ardently to Thomas in his doubt that the Lord had returned from the dead. We don’t know.
There is one further clue which Scripture offers us about Simon: his silence. When it comes to silence in Scripture, we are not to take lack of dialogue to mean lack of importance, or to believe that his words were not worth recording. After all, whose silence is more blatant than that of St. Joseph? No, the silence of Simon paradoxically tells us volumes about this Apostle.
If St. Simon has been remembered by the Church primarily for his zeal, then what does this tell us about what it means to be a zealous Christian? It tells us that the most effective way to bring the light of Christ to a darkened world is not necessarily by persisting with our words, but by persevering with our example.
Now let’s be clear: this is not to suggest that words have no purpose or that preaching is futile. Of course, without the words recorded in our beloved Bible to guide us, we would be lost. In fact, it is precisely the reason that many are lost today; they simply do not consult the one treasure passed on to us by our forefathers to teach us how we are to navigate this thing called “life.”
But before anyone will even think to pick up and read, or sit down and listen, they must first have the ember of faith written upon their hearts ignited, sparked, and fanned into a burning flame. That is what happens when we offer our example of zeal, as Simon surely did, for others.
Today, the word “zealot” has taken on the connotation of religious extremism. But in the Christian tradition, to be zealous is to display enthusiasm and joy with regard to the things of God. This kind of zealousness is meant to attract lonely, despairing hearts. The peace and joy of Christ we offer should bring a balm of healing love to those who suffer, who doubt, who are entrenched in sin. What we have to offer is something to be attained by no other pursuit in life. In a word, what we have to offer is the good news of Christ’s life-saving mercy and love.
St. Simon the Zealot, pray for us.
Rubens, P.P. (1611). St. Simon [painting]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
