Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Today's Mass Readings

Pope Benedict has declared the year starting June 29, 2008 as the Year of St. Paul. June 29 has traditionally been celebrated as the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. This year, though, this celebration is all the more special because of the Pope's declaration. The lives of both Peter and Paul did not merit them the task they were entrusted with or the task they accomplished.

What can an illiterate fisherman offer to build the Kingdom of God? Peter spoke more than he knew; he boasted of his abilities even when he was not sure (he said that he would die for Christ), and when his credibility was tested, he failed. If someone denies me when my life is at stake I would want nothing more from that person. But at the end of it all Christ, contrary to every human logic, entrusted Peter the task of “tending the sheep” (Jn 21: 15-17).

Paul’s story is even more intriguing. Unlike Peter, he was educated by Gamaliel, the most erudite of all Rabbis and a leading authority of the Sanhedrin. But he hated Christians and persecuted them with vengeance. Why in the world would anyone want to befriend their most hatfed enemy? But, as with Peter, defying all human reasoning Paul is called by Christ. After all the years of study by the best scholars, answers to these questions barely satisfy the human mind. All we can say today is that as we look back at the history of the Church, one cannot imagine the Church without the pioneering and self-sacrificing work of Peter and Paul.

It really wasn’t the fact the Peter and Paul were chosen that was crucial. It was that God chose them that was crucial. It is not who is chosen but rather who is choosing us that is important. The mission becomes important not because we are chosen but because God makes the choice. Christian life must begin with the realization that my faith, in whatever form I experience it now, is first, I repeat, first, God’s call to me. Peter knew this. When Peter denied Jesus, unlike Judas, he did not look at himself, he looked at his God. And that one difference between the two was the difference between life and death. Paul too, once he heard God’s voice, did not look back but kept his focus on the God that called him Let us keep our eyes on the God who calls us and we will be surprised at what God can accomplish through us.

The same Christ who called Peter and Paul calls us today. Let us respond to this call. Let us keep our eyes focused on Christ. Let our lives be the presence of God in this world.

- Fr. Satish Joseph