The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, challenge us to evaluate our understanding of leadership through love that brings liberation to the Children of God.
Path of the Saints
The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes Herod’s Persecution of the Christians and Peter.
* [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.
* [12:2] James, the brother of John: this James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded by Herod Agrippa ca. A.D. 44.
* [12:3, 4] Feast of Unleavened Bread…Passover: see note on Lk 22:1. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 34 is thanksgiving in acrostic form.
* [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). (Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Reading from the Second Letter to Timothy proclaims the Reward for Fidelity and Paul’s Loneliness.
* [4:6] The apostle recognizes his death through martyrdom to be imminent. He regards it as an act of worship in which his blood will be poured out in sacrifice; cf. Ex 29:38–40; Phil 2:17.
* [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).
* [4:8] When the world is judged at the parousia, all who have eagerly looked for the Lord’s appearing and have sought to live according to his teachings will be rewarded. The crown is a reference to the laurel wreath placed on the heads of victorious athletes and conquerors in war; cf. 2 Tm 2:5; 1 Cor 9:25. (2 Timothy, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew proclaims Peter’s Confession 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).
* [16:13] Caesarea Philippi: situated about twenty miles north of the Sea of Galilee in the territory ruled by Philip, a son of Herod the Great, tetrarch from 4 B.C. until his death in A.D. 34 (see note on Mt 14:1). He rebuilt the town of Paneas, naming it Caesarea in honor of the emperor, and Philippi (“of Philip”) to distinguish it from the seaport in Samaria that was also called Caesarea. Who do people say that the Son of Man is?: although the question differs from the Marcan parallel (Mk 8:27: “Who…that I am?”), the meaning is the same, for Jesus here refers to himself as the Son of Man (cf. Mt 16:15).
* [16:14] John the Baptist: see Mt 14:2. Elijah: cf. Mal 3:23–24; Sir 48:10; and see note on Mt 3:4. Jeremiah: an addition of Matthew to the Marcan source.
* [16:16] The Son of the living God: see Mt 2:15; 3:17. The addition of this exalted title to the Marcan confession eliminates whatever ambiguity was attached to the title Messiah. This, among other things, supports the view proposed by many scholars that Matthew has here combined his source’s confession with a post-resurrectional confession of faith in Jesus as Son of the living God that belonged to the appearance of the risen Jesus to Peter; cf. 1 Cor 15:5; Lk 24:34.
* [16:17] Flesh and blood: a Semitic expression for human beings, especially in their weakness. Has not revealed this…but my heavenly Father: that Peter’s faith is spoken of as coming not through human means but through a revelation from God is similar to Paul’s description of his recognition of who Jesus was; see Gal 1:15–16, “…when he [God]…was pleased to reveal his Son to me….”
* [16:18] You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church: the Aramaic word kēpā’ meaning rock and transliterated into Greek as Kēphas is the name by which Peter is called in the Pauline letters (1 Cor 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:4; Gal 1:18; 2:9, 11, 14) except in Gal 2:7–8 (“Peter”). It is translated as Petros (“Peter”) in Jn 1:42. The presumed original Aramaic of Jesus’ statement would have been, in English, “You are the Rock (Kēpā’) and upon this rock (kēpā’) I will build my church.” The Greek text probably means the same, for the difference in gender between the masculine noun petros, the disciple’s new name, and the feminine noun petra (rock) may be due simply to the unsuitability of using a feminine noun as the proper name of a male. Although the two words were generally used with slightly different nuances, they were also used interchangeably with the same meaning, “rock.” Church: this word (Greek ekklēsia) occurs in the gospels only here and in Mt 18:17 (twice). There are several possibilities for an Aramaic original. Jesus’ church means the community that he will gather and that, like a building, will have Peter as its solid foundation. That function of Peter consists in his being witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. The gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it: the netherworld (Greek Hadēs, the abode of the dead) is conceived of as a walled city whose gates will not close in upon the church of Jesus, i.e., it will not be overcome by the power of death.
* [16:19] The keys to the kingdom of heaven: the image of the keys is probably drawn from Is 22:15–25 where Eliakim, who succeeds Shebna as master of the palace, is given “the key of the House of David,” which he authoritatively “opens” and “shuts” (Is 22:22). Whatever you bind…loosed in heaven: there are many instances in rabbinic literature of the binding-loosing imagery. Of the several meanings given there to the metaphor, two are of special importance here: the giving of authoritative teaching, and the lifting or imposing of the ban of excommunication. It is disputed whether the image of the keys and that of binding and loosing are different metaphors meaning the same thing. In any case, the promise of the keys is given to Peter alone. In Mt 18:18 all the disciples are given the power of binding and loosing, but the context of that verse suggests that there the power of excommunication alone is intended. That the keys are those to the kingdom of heaven and that Peter’s exercise of authority in the church on earth will be confirmed in heaven show an intimate connection between, but not an identification of, the church and the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)
Rev. Larry Gillick, SJ comments that we recall in our Readings for this Eucharistic liturgy the non-slipping of faith in the events of Peter and Paul. They both kept faith in the Christ Who was faithful to them in their distress.
So that’s all well and good for Peter and Paul, but what’s well and good for us as we move toward the Sacrament of the Eucharist? As we have been reading from the Acts of the Apostles during Eastertime, Peter and Paul had disagreements and had to settle up about important issues in what was to be the new Way of God’s call and our responses.
Pope Leo and Pope Francis before him, have been calling us to a “deeperness” of belief, or faith, or trust or just walking out on the slippery log of life. Faith is not just what we say or think, but how we walk from what is deep inside to what invitations to walk as peacefully into the pains of this life. We are encouraged to attend funerals of married partners, bedsides of the suffering, read the stories of martyrs as well as our living the joys and pains of those slippery experiences of living.
Perhaps deepening comes from our trusting that, though we slip and slide, His faithfulness is what raises us up. We might experience embarrassments from our falls, but the more important act of faith is when we allow His Love to be the center of our faith. If we stand up for our true self, we do not have to be frightened of temporarily falling for something and this is deep faith which Peter and Paul lived and died. He alone can save us from ourselves. (Gillick, n.d.)
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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 16:13-19 that the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, became the very foundation of Peter and Paul’s lives. It was the reality that spurred them to keep following the Lord.
As you consider these two holy men today, you can almost hear them saying, See how Jesus has changed our lives! Who do you say that he is? How does that make a difference in the way you live?
“Jesus, I believe you are the Christ! Let this truth become my foundation today and every day!” (Meditation on Matthew 16:13-19, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that in the Acts passage we hear how Herod Antipas arrests James, kills him and has Peter arrested too. The angels release Peter to proclaim the Gospel. The Letter to Timothy was not written by Paul but in his name, before he died, decapitated in Rome. Paul speaks of the time coming of being poured out as a libation. He realizes he will die but not be conquered. The proclamation in Matthew’s Gospel in Ceasarea Phillippi: “The Christ of the son of the living God” is more than Mark. In Matthew, Peter is commended as the revelation of the Father as the “rock” and the leader of the “Church” institution that would follow. Friar Jude notes Peter is a “super rabbi” and the gates of the netherworld close to Ceasarea Phillippi are a visual image.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explains how the Gospels impart a message of liberation, particularly for people pushed to the margins of society.
Liberation theology—which focuses on freeing people from religious, political, social, and economic oppression—is often dismissed by official Christianity. Perhaps that’s not surprising when we consider who interpreted the Scriptures for the last seventeen hundred years. The empowered clerical class enforced their own perspective instead of that of the marginalized, who first received the message with such excitement and hope. Once Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire (after 313 CE), we largely stopped reading the Bible from the side of the poor and the oppressed. We read it from the side of the political establishment and the usually comfortable priesthood instead of from the side of people hungry for justice and truth. Shifting our priorities to make room for the powerless instead of accommodating the powerful is the only way to detach religion from its common marriage to power, money, and self-importance. [1]
When Scripture is read through the eyes of vulnerability—what Catholics call the “preferential option for the poor” or the “bias from the bottom”—it will always be liberating and transformative. Scripture will not be used to oppress or impress. The question is no longer, “How can I maintain the status quo?” (which often happens to benefit me), but “How can we all grow and change together?” We would have no top to protect, and the so-called “bottom” becomes the place of education, real change, and transformation for all. (Rohr, n.d.)
We call upon the Holy Spirit to enlighten our understanding of the suffering and imprisonment of good people as we respond to the call from Jesus to be agents of liberation of our brothers and sisters.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/12?1
Gillick, L. (n.d.). Daily Reflection June 29, 2025. Online Ministries Creighton University. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-29-2025
Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/16?13
Meditation on Matthew 16:13-19. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/06/29/1319117/
Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/34?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Hearing Another Story. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/hearing-another-story/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). You Are the Christ - the Son of the Living God. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jun29a
2 Timothy, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2timothy/4?6
