The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invoke the history of the lives of Peter and Paul as seed for meditation on our missionary journey.
Into the community
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells of James being killed and Peter imprisoned.
* [12:1–19] Herod Agrippa ruled Judea A.D. 41–44. While Luke does not assign a motive for his execution of James and his intended execution of Peter, the broad background lies in Herod’s support of Pharisaic Judaism. The Jewish Christians had lost the popularity they had had in Jerusalem (Acts 2:47), perhaps because of suspicions against them traceable to the teaching of Stephen.1
Psalm 34 is praise for deliverance from trouble.
* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22).2
The reading from the Second Letter to Timothy declares that Paul has fought the good fight and receives a reward for fidelity.
* [4:7] At the close of his life Paul could testify to the accomplishment of what Christ himself foretold concerning him at the time of his conversion, “I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name” (Acts 9:16).3
The Gospel of Matthew describes Peter’s declaration about Jesus.
* [16:13–20] The Marcan confession of Jesus as Messiah, made by Peter as spokesman for the other disciples (Mk 8:27–29; cf. also Lk 9:18–20), is modified significantly here. The confession is of Jesus both as Messiah and as Son of the living God (Mt 16:16). Jesus’ response, drawn principally from material peculiar to Matthew, attributes the confession to a divine revelation granted to Peter alone (Mt 16:17) and makes him the rock on which Jesus will build his church (Mt 16:18) and the disciple whose authority in the church on earth will be confirmed in heaven, i.e., by God (Mt 16:19).4
Ed Morse comments that today we honor the martyrdom of two apostles who both were killed in Rome. St. Augustine refers to their feast day in one of his sermons, indicating its long pedigree in our tradition. He suggests that choosing a single date to celebrate their deaths, which likely occurred on different days, honored their oneness in following our Lord.
Lord, let us walk with you in faith, not in fear of disapproval from others. Reassure us that you are loving us along the way, glad for our companionship, weak though we may be. Allow us to grow into the faith that Paul and Peter showed us in their day, that we may live worthily in our day and lay hold of the crown that awaits all who run well. Thanks be to God. 5
Don Schwager quotes “Only by hope,” by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.
"'Turn, O my soul, into your rest: for the Lord has been bountiful to you' (Psalm 114:7). The brave contestant applies to himself the consoling words, very much like to Paul, when he says: 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice.' These things the prophet also says to himself: Since you have fulfilled sufficiently the course of this life, turn then to your rest, 'for the Lord has been bountiful to you.' For, eternal rest lies before those who have struggled through the present life observant of the laws, a rest not given in payment for a debt owed for their works but provided as a grace of the munificent God for those who have hoped in him." (excerpt from HOMILIES 22)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 comments that today we celebrate the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul. The New Testament is filled with stories about how these men heroically devoted themselves to building the Church, but it doesn’t shy away from recounting times when they made their own mistakes. All we have to do is remember the story of Peter denying Jesus three times and Paul’s violent persecution of Jesus’ early followers!
Part of what separates saints like Peter and Paul from the rest of us is their humble ability to learn from their failings and their willingness to keep serving the Lord in spite of them. May we all learn how to keep moving forward, no matter what! “Holy Spirit, help me grow through my mistakes as I serve your people.”7
Friar Jude Winkler recounts Peter’s imprisonment, noting that the Gospel cannot be chained. As white martyrs we are invited to die to self a little bit everyday. Friar Jude connects the keys given to Peter to the rabbinic power to loose and bind according to the law.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the stories of Exodus make religious sense to people only to the degree that they are themselves walking a journey of faith. If we are walking in the Spirit and listening to the Spirit, we can rather easily relate these stories to our own life and identify with the experience of Israel.
Like the Israelites, we will find that the desert is not all desert. The way to the Promised Land leads to life even in the midst of the desert. When we least expect it, there is an oasis. As the Scriptures promise, God will make the desert bloom (Isaiah 35:1).8
Our walk, today, with Christ will be enlivened by the heritage we carry from Peter and Paul.
References
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