Scripture Reflection, June 29: Solemnity of Peter and Paul

Scripture Readings:
Acts 12: 1-11
Psalm 34
2 Timothy 4: 6-8
Matthew 16: 13-19

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Heroes play an important role in our society and in our personal lives. The stories of the heroic firefighters, police officers and other rescue personnel who risked their lives on 9/11 inspired and uplifted us at a time of national crisis. In our own personal lives, there are people who have been heroes for us, even if they never became famous people. I think of a priest who was a member of my Passionist community. He served as a missionary in China in the 1940’s and spent years in prison, several of them in solitary confinement. His courage and his lively spirit inspired me when I met him as an older man, years after his experience in China.

This Sunday in the Church we celebrate two heroes of our tradition: Peter and Paul. Peter was known as the great apostle to the people of Israel. He uttered that memorable response to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter’s reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” has lived on through the ages as an essential confession of the Christian faith. Tradition has it that Peter was martyred for his faith in Rome in the mid-60’s of the first century. Paul is remembered as the intrepid apostle to the Gentiles. He brought the good news of Jesus Christ to new lands and new peoples who were not part of the Jewish sphere. He was faithful to that mission despite experiencing shipwrecks, persecutions and imprisonment. Tradition tells us that he, too, was martyred for the gospel, also at Rome, perhaps a few years after Peter. If the Church held ticker tape parades for its heroes, Peter and Paul would certainly be among those who were showered with buckets of confetti. It is important for us to allow the stories of their lives and their heroic commitment to inspire us in our own efforts to live the Christian faith. We need to celebrate their memory particularly in a society where it is not always easy or popular to be true to our faith in Christ.

At the same time, I believe that it is also important for us to remember how these two men became heroic in their witness to Christ. What, or who, made this possible? I think that we receive a glimpse of the answer to that question in the passage from the Second Letter to Timothy. Paul (or a disciple of Paul writing in Paul’s name) reflects on his own life and says, “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. And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever.”

Peter and Paul became the heroes they were because of the presence and influence of one person in their lives: Jesus Christ. These two apostles, like all the great saints after them, accomplished what they did because of the grace of Christ. It was not because they were perfect, flawless, or naturally brilliant and strong. Just think for a moment about their stories. Peter made his solemn confession about Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. But immediately after that, when Jesus spoke of how the Messiah must take up his cross and suffer, Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him. Later, we hear the way in which Peter solemnly declared his allegiance to Jesus and then proceeded to deny him three times. Peter was rehabilitated only through the mercy of Jesus. Paul was a persecutor of Christians who set out for Damascus to hunt them down. His encounter with the risen Lord was completely unexpected; it was the furthest thing from his mind. Later, Paul had his battles with some of the Christian communities he pastored. In those disputes it is clear that Paul had a rather hefty ego. Peter and Paul were flawed characters. They became heroic Christians not by their own brilliance and strength but through the grace of Christ, the One who is the foundation of the Church and who preserves his Church to the end.

In recent years, the flaws of the Church, and the mistakes of some of the leaders of the Church, have been on display for all to see. The reality of sin and failure in the Church has led many to distrust the institution. It has also compelled all of us to examine the role of Christian community in our lives of faith. In an individualistic culture, where many folks claim to be “spiritual but not religious,” there is the abiding temptation to withdraw from the community and attempt to practice our faith in a purely private manner. At times we may want to pursue our own personal relationship with God and not bother with the headaches that come from community or institution.

Despite these tendencies and temptations, we know that our Christian commitment, especially as Catholics, is intrinsically communal. Like the great heroes Peter and Paul, we are all flawed characters who comprise a flawed community of faith that has made some big mistakes through the ages. But even with that recognition, our celebration of Peter and Paul contains an invitation to renew our hope in Christ. We proclaim that Christ continues to be present to the Church and at work within the Church despite the weaknesses and foibles of believers. The heroic achievements of Peter and Paul give witness to the grace of Christ at work through two men who were sinners and who at first were found wanting. This Sunday, as we make memory of the lives of Peter and Paul, we celebrate the enduring fidelity of Christ in their lives. We are also invited to renew our trust in Christ’s faithfulness in our own lives, as we too strive to proclaim the gospel in word and in deed. May we ask him to make us courageous in our witness of faith.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp