Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul. The general rule even with Marian celebrations is that it moves to another weekday if it falls on a Sunday. But the importance of this feast is such that not only is it celebrated as a Solemnity but that it also is celebrated as an unmovable feast. No one has to impress upon us the importance of these two men who were apostles in their own right. There is no doubt that without them, the history of the Catholic Church would be written differently. In fact, the New Testament canon of scripture would be different without them.
Allow me in my three points to reflect more deeply upon their life and death. I will also draw practical implications for us from this feast.
Their Calling
Peter and Paul were both called very differently. One was a humble fisherman called along the seashore, and the other, by no means humble, was called on his way to Damascus. One awaited the Messiah, and the other worked to destroy Messianic legacy. One had the most basic education and the other was an erudite Rabbi. One became an itinerant follower and the other had no lived experience with Christ. One denied Christ three times and the other murdered his followers. One appealed to the Jewish-Christians, the other became an apostle to the Gentiles. Peter and Paul could not be more different but there is one thing that united them – the person of Jesus Christ.
When we look at people like Mary, John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, we think of them as stalwarts of the faith. In comparison, perhaps we find our life and our calling insignificant to theirs. I am guilty of this myself. But our call is not any less important than theirs, only, it is for the particular work, faith, and mission entrusted to each one of us. Our call may be different, but the significance is the same.
Their Mission
Both Peter and Paul’s call defined their mission. To Peter Jesus said, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:18-19). About his mission Paul said, “The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Tim 4:17). Between Peter and Paul, they took the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Jews and Gentiles of the then Roman world.
Peter and Paul carried out their respective missions amidst great hardships. Paul was beaten with rods, stoned, and he received lashes. On his frequent journeys he faced dangers from rivers, from robbers, from Jewish-Christians, from Gentiles, from the ravages of the weather and dangers among fake Christians. He faced, shipwrecks, toil and hardship, sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, foodlessness, and cold and exposure” (2 Cor 11:25-27). Finally, Paul spent the last two years of his life under house arrest in Rome. But at the end of it all, he is able to say, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7).
Peter too lived out his mission amidst immense struggles, especially challenges to his leadership entrusted to him by Christ himself.
Our paths and our life-journeys are clearly different from that of Peter and Paul. But none of us are without a call and its mission. We have a lifetime to discern our call, to fulfil our mission, and to live it out as priest, religious, single, married, parents, children, young or old. The hope is that at the end of our lives, despite our struggles, we too can say, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”
Their Life and Death
The Church’s tradition teaches us that both Peter and Paul died as martyrs in Rome during the persecution under Nero in 64 A.D. According to tradition, Paul was granted the right of a Roman citizen to be beheaded by a sword, but Peter suffered the fate of his Lord, crucifixion, and tradition has it that he asked to be crucified upside down. They lived and died for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Life has meaning when we have something we are willing to live and die for something bigger than ourselves. People live for their country and people die for their country; people live for their families and people dies for their families; some people live for money and some people die for money; other people live for fame and die for fame. People live and die for all kinds of things.
I asked myself the question this week. What am I willing to live for and what am I living to die for? For me it is the Gospel that Jesus proclaimed – the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel of Jesus revolved around the deepest love of God and selfless love of neighbor. Jesus’ reign is a reign of faith, love, mercy, justice, peace, non-violence, generosity, gentleness, patience, and goodwill. In this reign there is forgiveness for the sinner, hope for the hopeless, compassion for the poor, justice for the oppressed, peace for the restless, and dignity for every human person, especially, the most vulnerable. I cannot celebrate the Eucharist with you and then go out and live contrary to the gospel in selfishness, hate, intolerance, injustice, oppression, cruelty, and prejudice. The gospel impels me to stand by the sinner, the poor, the hungry, the homeless immigrants, the ill-treated refugees, the unborn, the children, and the most vulnerable of our society. I will always stand for and by the meek, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. If there is something that I will live for and die for, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Life has meaning when we are willing to live and die for something bigger than ourselves. Peter and Paul were martyred for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our call as Catholics and our mission as believers in Jesus Christ compels us to ask ourselves, “What am I willing to live for and what I am willing to die for?"
Let us bring our lives to this altar. Like Peter and Paul may our lives be fashioned by the life and death of the One we celebrate on this altar – Jesus Christ.
- Fr. Satish Joseph