We are Peter and Pauls

Second Letter to Timothy 4:6-8.17-18.

For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. But 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. Amen.

Saint Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, «Who do people say that the Son of Man is?» They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 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."

Food for thought

Today, we celebrate two great men, Peter and Paul. The Church celebrates these two men together because they're the two sides of a coin, known as the Church; you can't have one without the other. If Peter discovered that Jesus is the Christ, Paul announced that discovery to all the world, especially to non Jews. If Peter was a champion of announcing Christ to the Jews, Paul is the champion of announcing Christ to the non Jews: "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."

So today we are celebrating unity in diversity. That is the main thought on our minds as we celebrate these two men, Peter and Paul. In their lifetime Peter and Paul did not work so closely together. Peter was called directly by Jesus and given “the keys of the kingdom,” as the gospel says. Btw, this is why in images and photos, Peter is portrayed as holding keys.

Paul, on the other hand, probably never met Jesus face to face. Once a persecutor of the church, his conversion came about through a vision on the road to Damascus. His inspiration and his style of presenting the gospel came from visions and charismatic experiences. In images and photos, Paul is portrayed as carrying either a sword or a book.

These days, we often label ourselves as either conservatives or liberals. Conservatives, who often identify with the institutional authority of Peter, wage war against liberals; and liberals, who identify with the charismatic vision of Paul, wage war against conservatives. By combining the feasts of the apostles Peter and Paul, the church is inviting all her children to look beyond the conservative-liberal divide and discover a deeper level of unity in Christ.

The church of Christ needs the rock of Peter’s institutional leadership as well as the vitality of Paul’s charismatic vision. Christian unity, like the unity of Peter and Paul, is not a unity in uniformity but a unity in diversity. Today the church reminds us that, even though as individuals and local communities some will prefer the style of Peter and others that of Paul, we should not let that divide us since we are all, first and foremost, followers of the one Lord Jesus Christ; we belong to the same coin that has two sides, two great saints, two complementing gifts. We do well not to fist each other but to feast with each other, be it in our homes, in our communities, in our church and in the world.