SUNDAY, SOLEMNITY OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES
Acts 12: 1-11 Ps 34 2 Tm 4: 6-8, 17-18 Mt 16: 13-19
THE HOLINESS OF PETER AND PAUL
On this feast day of the apostles Peter and Paul, we have readings that point to how each one of these apostles responded to Jesus and to others around them. They also show how God uses ordinary men to bring the joy of the Gospel to many and change the course of the history of the human race.
In the Gospel, we see Peter and the other disciples being asked a very important question by the one whom they have been following as their Master: “Who do you say the Son of Man is?” Perhaps this was a question that the people were asking, and most probably the disciples had been discussing it as well. There was a reference in the Old Testament to “one like a Son of Man” who comes with the clouds and is presented before God, and all dominion and glory were given to him (Dan 7:13-14). Certainly, there was a lot of speculation, but very little clarity. Now, Jesus desires to help his disciples understand the truth of who He truly is. It is Peter who responds with a confession of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus declares that this revelation that has come to the apostles through Peter, is from God the Father. Hence, it is clear, certain and true. Jesus then blesses Peter as the rock on whom He will build his church. This blessing is for all the apostles through Peter. Jesus chooses to build his church on the shoulders of the apostles who have left everything to follow Jesus.
In the second reading we hear Paul explaining the nature of his discipleship. He gives the analogy of a drink offering. In the Old Testament, it was a serving of wine that was poured out on the altar and consumed by fire. Paul says that he has already been poured out, that he has “fought the good fight to the end… run the race to the finish… kept the faith.” All this is a way of saying that he has given his all to Jesus. His offering, like the wine, is consumed by the fire of the love of God and it is a pleasing aroma to Christ. This comes with a promise of the prize that is stored up for him, the crown of righteousness. The apostles Peter and Paul are examples and witnesses of those who have left everything and followed Jesus, and were poured out as a drink offering to be consumed by the Divine fire. Their holiness is not their own, but is given to them as a blessing and a gift from God the Father. They receive their sainthood not because they were without fault but because they fought the good fight even when it was exhausting, finished the race without giving up and kept the faith even in difficult circumstances. They receive the crown of righteousness not because they had earned it but because they were faithful. We cannot earn the Father’s love. He loves us unconditionally already. What we can do is be faithful to him as a response to His faithfulness to us.
How can we imitate Peter and Paul and so receive the crown of righteousness?
- Stay closely connected to Jesus and the church that is built on the shoulders of many apostles, saints and faithful people.
- Remember to make a daily offering of yourself to God, so that you may have strength to fight the good fight against fear, sin and evil.
- Encourage those around you to finish the race so that you may also be encouraged to keep running and not give up in moments of weakness and failure.
“The Church looks to these two giants of faith (Peter and Paul) and sees two Apostles who set free the power of the Gospel in our world, only because first they themselves had been set free by their encounter with Christ… Peter and Paul bequeath to us the image of a Church set free and capable of offering the world the freedom that the world by itself cannot give: freedom from sin and death, from resignation, and from the sense of injustice and the loss of hope that dehumanizes the lives of the women and men of our time.” (Pope Francis)
Response: Their sound goes forth through all the earth.
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