THE SURE FOUNDATION

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. Rev.21:14.

The city to which this verse refers is, of course, the Holy Jerusalem, not the physical city over which men have squabbled and fought for so long, but the heavenly city, the church militant on earth and triumphant in heaven.

In his vision, St. John sees a vast multitude, beyond the capability of a man to count, secured by a great and high wall. This is a safe place, in which those who enter by the twelve gates have nothing to fear. The Church is protected by God and the vast multitude lives in the glory of God, everyone praising and worshipping the God of their salvation. These are the host of the chosen, those we heard Jesus speak of in last week’s Gospel reading from St. Matthew. You may remember His words, For many are called, but few are chosen. From the Revelation of St. John the Divine we learn that the number of the chosen is a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues. Rev.7:9.

In two thousand years and whatever time lies beyond, the Church has gathered in so many souls. The Gospel message has reached so many ears and entered so many hearts. The Good Shepherd has brought home to the Kingdom of God a vast and varied flock from the furthest reaches of the kingdom here on earth. What a wondrous work that is, and while we should feel comforted to be given the chance to be part of it, through the Grace of God and led by His Holy Spirit, yet we have no room for complacency. The work of the Church is the work of Jesus Christ and we, his foot soldiers, should never feel satisfied with our part in the harvest of souls. We can never do enough for Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the head and chief corner stone of the Church and it is He who made of His chosen Apostles the sure foundation. What rich blessings those men had to sit at the feet of the Master and learn what He alone could teach them. What a glorious task they were given, to pass on those teachings, sometimes directly, sometimes in writings. It is beyond my capacity to imagine the full glory of such privileges, although the New Testament does lift the veil for us. The glimpses we are given of the changes wrought in the humble fisherman, Peter, for example, show us the power of Jesus Christ working on those around Him. The transformation of St. Paul leaves us in no doubt that Jesus can reach even the hardest of hearts. The power of the Master shines through the Gospel and none were as aware of this as His chosen Apostles.

That means that in them and their immediate successors lies a huge body of extremely important knowledge. We cannot ever ignore Holy Scripture, for it is the basis of all our understanding of God. But the Church must also take care to be guided by the writings of the early Church Fathers for they were the blessed recipients of the wisdom of the Apostles under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

On this feast day of St. Simon and St. Jude, let us give thanks for the strength which Jesus poured into these and all the Apostles as He prepared them for the mighty task which would follow His death, Resurrection and Ascension. Upon their success, arising from the glorious light of Jesus Christ and inspired by the Holy Spirit, has been built the Church of which we are part.

Their strength took the form of right doctrine and expressed itself through the passing on of that same right doctrine guided by the Holy Spirit. That is the mortar holding together the foundation upon which the Church was built and it is thanks to that sure foundation that we are here today, worshipping God in the context of orthodox belief. We do not have to look far to see clearly what happens when right doctrine is abandoned, giving way to apostasy and tragedy. Many are called but few are chosen. Pray for those who have heard the call and then rejected it or in foolishness, pride or downright wickedness decided that they know better and have the right to change the message of Jesus Christ; to alter the word of God to suit their own ends.

It does not take a theologian to conclude that it is the duty of a Christian to cherish the Church’s foundation; to understand, love and protect right doctrine. That doctrine emanated from our Lord, was planted by Him with great care in the 12 Apostles and transplanted from them into their successors, and in turn into their successors. There is one reason why Apostolic Succession, in its fullest sense, is so important.

In the Apostles the Holy Spirit gave Christ’s doctrine the blessings of deeper understanding, recollection and clarity. The Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. The Holy Spirit continues to do this to this day, building perpetually on that foundation of the twelve Apostles. Not to anyone are the riches of Holy Scripture revealed all at once. Those riches and the doctrine they contain require frequent, diligent dipping into the deep waters of God’s word. The patient seeker who yearns for knowledge through the guidance of the Holy Spirit will find pearls of great price, revealed in God’s way in God’s time. That should neither disturb nor dismay us, but should cheer us and keep us focused. God is unfathomable to us, but through His grace we will find the will to keep searching.

This feast day is a celebration of foundations and the Gospel reading this day points us very directly to the core of those foundations, the core for the Apostles and for us. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, Jesus says. That is absolutely foundational. We cannot claim to love Jesus Christ if we do not strive with all our might to keep His commandments. Obedience is made by Jesus Himself to be the proof of love and He does this not by word alone.

Christ became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross, wrote St. Paul to the Philippians. Phil. 2:8. What greater proof of love is there than the Cross.

The Father loves us so much that He sent His Son to die upon the Cross for our salvation.

The Son loves His Father beyond our imagination and obeyed the Father’s will for our salvation.

The Son loves us so much that He, obedient to the will of the Father and through the cooperation of the Holy Ghost became the perfect, perpetual sacrifice for our sins.

We prove our love for Jesus Christ only by opening our hearts to God’s Love for us and obeying His commandments. There is no other way and there are no compromises. If Jesus upon the Cross does not, through the Grace of God, give us a burning desire to obey Him, nothing will.

We cannot escape the Cross and Christ crucified, nor should we want to. When we remain in the presence of the Cross and become sincerely obedient to His words, we become His bliss. Every saved soul is a joy to Him and as Julian of Norwich said, we be His crown. Julian stated that in her Ninth Revelation of Divine Love and it was a glorious flash of light for her. It is indeed the fruit of His Passion for our Lord Jesus Christ – a crown of saved souls, those who have longed to hear His words, and, hearing them, have obeyed.

In her Ninth Revelation, Julian saw Jesus say, If I might suffer more, I would suffer more. This was not to suggest that His perfect sacrifice was in any way less than perfect, but rather that His Love for us is so vast that He counts all His suffering and more as nothing beside our salvation.

So when St. Jude asks Him, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?, Jesus responds to the Apostle’s still dim understanding by gently leading him back to what He has just told them all, If a man love me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him. In these words Jesus makes it clear that He is speaking not just of the Apostles but of all of us. What a promise follows these words, when Jesus tells us that for such people, He and the Father, will come unto him and make our abode with him.

St. Simon and St. Jude were nothing if not obedient and, except for Judas Iscariot, who fulfilled another purpose, this was characteristic of all of the Apostles.

They obeyed the commandments of the Lord and became the foundation of the Church, which He founded and, through His chosen twelve, comforted, inspired and led by the Holy Spirit, established the sure foundation.

In that foundation lies our confidence and that is nowhere better expressed than in today’s collect:

Let us pray:

O Almighty God, who hast built thy Church upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the head corner-stone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their doctrine, that we may be made an holy temple acceptable unto thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Peter Jardine+

St. Simon and St. Jude, 2007