The text from the Acts of the Apostles focuses on the persecution of Peter by Herod Antipas in the 1st Century.
* [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.The Pastoral Epistle in Second Timothy compares the life of Paul to the libations poured out to the gods in the culture of his time.
* [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).The Gospel from Matthew is the description of the confession of Peter at Caesarea Philippi.
* [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).Luis Rodriguez, S.J. reflects that oneness of mind and heart speaks of unanimity (uni-animity or one-spirit-ness), not necessarily of uniformity. The apostolic faith planted by both Peter and Paul remained the same in its essentials, but in its details it was not cloned in every one of the many faith communities that sprang from their proclamation.
Each exhibited its own identifying characteristics without being perceived as a threat to unanimity, a growth that in its diversity was seen as guided by the Holy Spirit. Today’s Church extends over clearly diverse societies and cultures and, taking a clue from Peter and Paul, it strives to preserve unanimity. Micromanaging the growth of each local church over the planet may achieve the external impression of uniformity, but, in disregarding what is legitimately proper to the local church, it could hurt unanimity. Unanimity is a gift of the Spirit, uniformity is not. We need Paul’s freedom to disagree with Peter and Peter’s honest acknowledgment that there are levels of sophistication and depth in the grasping and articulation of our common faith, levels Peter was not always in a position to understand.Peter Edmonds SJ describes how God’s grace worked differently in the lives of these two saints, neither of whom had straightforward paths to holiness.
Peter and Paul have much in common in that they were both apostles of Christ who sacrificed their lives to the same persecution, but their origins, personalities and achievements remind us that we live with diversity as well as uniformity in the Church of Christ. Paul complained to his Corinthian converts that some were saying, ‘I belong to Paul’ and others ‘I belong to Cephas [Peter]’ (1 Corinthians 1:12). His appeal that we all be united in the same mind and in the same purpose (1 Corinthians 1:10) is surely the appeal that we are to heed on this Solemnity of Peter and Paul.The Catholic Culture website writes on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, that these apostles are the solid rock on which the Church is built. They are at the origin of her faith and will forever remain her protectors and her guides. To them, Rome owes her true greatness, for it was under God's providential guidance that they were led to make the capital of the Empire, sanctified by their martyrdom, the center of the Christian world whence should radiate the preaching of the Gospel.
St. Peter suffered martyrdom under Nero, in A.D. 66 or 67. He was buried on the hill of the Vatican where recent excavations have revealed his tomb on the very site of the Basilica of St. Peter's. St. Paul was beheaded in the Via Ostia on the spot where now stands the basilica bearing his name. Down the centuries Christian people in their thousands have gone on pilgrimage to the tombs of these Apostles. In the second and third centuries the Roman Church already stood pre-eminent by reason of her apostolicity, the infallible truth of her teaching and her two great figures, Sts. Peter and Paul.Don Schwager quotes Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D reflecting on the grace of the munificent God for those who have hoped in him.
"'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."The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 comments that in Peter and Paul we see heroic virtue. In them we see enmity becoming friendship. And perhaps most important, in them we see how someone’s yes to God can change, not only their own lives, but the entire course of Christianity.
What united them? They said yes to Jesus. In living out that yes, they strove every day to be faithful to God’s call in their lives. And in response to that yes, they experienced God’s faithfulness to them every day. As they poured themselves out for Jesus and his mission, shared the gospel with as many people as possible, and willingly suffered in Christ’s name, they changed and grew. Each day, they became more and more like Jesus, and the more they became like Jesus, the better equipped they were to do his will in the world.Friar Jude Winkler explores the protection of God for the Church. The rabbinic power granted Peter at Caesarea Philippi is the authority to bind and unbind.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, notes that the Vatican recently called attention to the poverty of ethics and morality within the global economy.
“No profit is in fact legitimate when it falls short of the objective of the integral promotion of the human person, the universal destination of goods, and the preferential option for the poor.” The economy must “aim above all to promote the global quality of life that, before the indiscriminate expansion of profits, leads the way toward the integral well-being of the entire person and of every person.” Markets, the Vatican observes, “are not capable of governing themselves,” and so it is our duty as citizens of Earth and followers of Jesus to hold businesses, banks, and political leaders to higher standards. [3]Bishop Robert Barron June 29, 2017, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, featured on the the Word on Fire blog, an excerpt from Episode 5 of the "CATHOLICISM" series, titled "The Indispensable Men: Peter, Paul, and the Missionary Adventure."
Paul, the theologian, and Peter, the Rock, offer two diverse examples of people who follow the will of God in their ministry within the Body of Christ.
References
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(n.d.). 2 Timothy, chapter 4 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 29, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/2timothy/4
(n.d.). Matthew 16:13-20. Retrieved June 29, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/matthew16.htm
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved June 29, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(2012, June 29). The Solemnity of Peter and Paul | Thinking Faith: The online journal of .... Retrieved June 29, 2018, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120629_1.htm
(2018, June 28). Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, apostles - June 29, 2018 - Liturgical .... Retrieved June 29, 2018, from https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2018-06-29
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 29, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Memorial) - Mass Readings and .... Retrieved June 29, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 29, 2018, from https://cac.org/richard-rohr/daily-meditations/daily-meditations-archive/
(2017, June 29). Bishop Barron on Peter, Paul, and the Missionary Adventure | Word on .... Retrieved June 29, 2018, from https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/bishop-barron-on-peter-paul-and-the-missionary-adventure/1743/
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