St. Peter and St. Paul - Saturday, June 29, 2019

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
St. Peter and St. Paul - Saturday, June 29, 2019

Ezekiel 34:11-16
2 Timothy 4:1-8
John 21:15-19

Peter and Paul are the two great apostles identified with the city of Rome, because both of them were martyred there.  Both of them were significant leaders in the early church.  Jesus called Andrew's brother Simon by the name of Peter, which means “rock” and said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.”  And the Scriptures relate the role that Peter played in leading the group of disciples Jesus left behind.  But Scripture also allows us to see Peter as a very fallible human being.  It is to Peter that Jesus says, “Get behind me Satan!” and Peter is the one apostle that denies Jesus three times on the night before his death.

Of course, Paul didn't start out as very saint-like either.  When we meet him in the Acts of the Apostles we are told that he is actively seeking out these new Christians to arrest them and put them in prison.  He stands by silently as the crowd stones Stephen to death.  He's a good Pharisee and proud of it, until he meets Jesus on the road to Damascus, and that experience changes his life.

Isn't it curious that Jesus chooses two very unlikely men to lead his church and spread the Good News about the Kingdom of God?  You would think he could do better than that.  But I think Jesus knew what he was doing, because he knew the hearts of each of them, and once he had won their hearts, he had very loyal and convincing disciples.  They knew that the power working in and through them was not their own power, but the power of God.  And I would guess that others around them knew that also.

Even as important as each of them was to the life of the early church, Scripture tells us they were not always on the same page.  Peter was the apostle to the Jews, and had a very difficult time adjusting to the understanding that God's kingdom did not belong only to the Jews and those who followed the Jewish Law.  Paul had to remind Peter that Peter had once welcomed Gentiles as Christians because they believed and received the Holy Spririt.  It had nothing to do with following the Jewish Law.  The Council of Jerusalem was the first of many times that disciples of Christ had to come together and air their differences in order to discern how God was leading them.  They trusted the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus to the Church, to lead and guide them.

Peter followed Jesus' call to “feed my lambs” and to “tend my sheep.”  Paul followed Jesus' call to out to all the nations, and proclaim the Good News.  As imperfect as both of them were, they were faithful to their call.  And that's why we remember them today.

What can we take away for ourselves on this great feast?  First, we know that God uses fallible men and women to do God's work in the world, and we shouldn't let our foibles and sinfulness discourage us or lead us to think that God is not calling us.  Second, just as the Spirit guided Peter and Paul and their followers “into all truth,” that same Spirit is with us today, giving us the help we need to discern God's guidance for our times.  And finally, just as Peter and Paul were strengthened and nourished by their strong relationships with the Lord, we are strengthened and nourished by our prayer and our own relationship with the Lord, gathering each day at this table to receive the Lord's Body and Blood, just like Peter and Paul.  They are with us today, reminding us that God is faithful and we can be disciples, too.