The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
June 28-29, 2025
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19
Today we celebrate a wonderful feast, one that does not fall on Sunday that often. Peter and Paul, two men whose names are forever linked; one reason being that tradition holds that they were both martyred in Rome – making that city the Center of Christendom. Peter and Paul; two men who could not be more different, and yet, the Church celebrates both of their lives this day. They seemed to have so little in common. Paul, the educated one, the one who was so sure of himself and his theological positions, the scholar of the law. Peter, the “every” man, the fisherman, stubborn, bumbling at times, unsure of Jesus’ mission, a regular guy who just couldn’t quite get it. And yet, these are the two men who were given such a central role in the life of the Church. In fact, without them, it is doubtful there would have even been a Church. And these are two people that Jesus chose in a very particular way.
Flannery O’Connor was a Catholic woman from the South who died in the early 1960’s at the tender age of 39. What is neat about her short-story writings, are the surprises. In them, it is almost always the least likely character who becomes the channel of God’s grace — it is the mean guy, or the woman with one leg, or the mentally challenged kid, or the bigot, or whomever the reader least expects. The one who seems the most righteous or perfect or whole or good is rarely, if ever, an instrument of God’s grace in her stories.
And if we look to the two men whose lives we celebrate this day, I’d have to say that Flannery O’Connor was onto something. For here are two men who did what is almost unthinkable, two men who appeared to turn their backs on God’s goodness. First, Paul, the great persecutor of the early Church, who witnessed the stoning of Stephen, the deacon martyr. Then we have Peter, the one who denied Jesus three times – even after having just claimed that he never would…
Yet, their betrayals were not the end. Rather, they were deep beginnings to a deeper and more changing relationship with Jesus. Their lives show clearly how they went from misunderstanding God’s plan to becoming a faithful follower of it.
My friends, ultimately this day is not so much a celebration of two men as it is a celebration of CHURCH —We celebrate the power of God to continually sustain the Church through periods of confusion, doubt or darkness… familiar? In fact, it is precisely these moments of difficulty that provide us with, what my AA sponsor would say, “opportunities to grow” in our understanding of [A] Christ’s cross and [B] His resurrection. What great hope they can be, for so many of us wonder, “What could God do with me? God would never choose me. I am too weak, too doubtful, too sinful”. And yet, one of the things the cross teaches us is that it is precisely our weaknesses that God will use to change us and the world. Our individual brokenness may be the starting point, but the finished product is the healing of the world around us.
I think the key for Peter and Paul was their ability to let go of their pasts: Paul’s persecution of the early Christians and Peter’s denials of Jesus. Either of those things could have consumed them, could have weighed heavily on their minds and hearts, could have paralyzed them and prevented them from being open to God’s grace. But it didn’t. It did not because these two men eventually embraced and lived out the Pascal Mystery in the own lives. They were able to let go, move forward, and realize that God did not care who they were yesterday, but only cared about who they wanted to be from that moment on… just like you, you… and you!
And this should give us great hope! How many of us think we are worthy to carry out Christ’s mission? How many of us think we have what it takes? Who is confident she or he can do the job, go the distance, endure the hardships… finish the race? Maybe none of us do.Yet, this feast assures us of just the opposite.
If you are struggling with your faith…
If you are facing real darkness in your life…
If you are having a tough time following the Lord…
If nothing seems to make sense to you anymore…
If you simply think you are not worthy or good enough… Then this day is for you!
Thanks to Peter and Paul for showing us the changing love of God. Thanks to Peter and Paul for showing us what “laying down one’s life” really means. Thanks to Peter and Paul for showing us how God can choose the most unlikely to accomplish the most important of things. We ask for Peter and Paul to pray for us, that each of us will have the courage to be faithful stewards of the Lord. May we always recognize just how much the Church needs each of us, how much God needs each of us.
May we always have the wisdom to let go of our pasts and let God change us into the people He needs us to be… just for today. Amen.
