Saints Peter and Paul
Peter, wrap your cloak around you and follow me
Today we celebrate the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. In the first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about Peter’s experience of being freed from prison by an angel, at which point Peter exclaims: “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” This experience must be read and understood in light of what the community itself did for Peter: “So Peter was kept in prison, but the Church was earnestly praying to God for him.” The “liberation” is therefore closely linked to the intercessory prayer that rises to God on the part of the community.
This reminds us that we cannot save ourselves, but that God enters into the history of each one of us thanks to the prayer that rises to Him, thanks to the concern of those around us. Perhaps we too, like Peter, find ourselves chained by our fears, our struggles and our fragility. Trapped by our feelings of guilt or by thinking that nothing will change. Yet, at every moment, a prayer for our liberation rises to God; at every moment, without us even knowing it, someone is praying for us, too; and those who pray perhaps do not know whom their prayer will benefit. It is the power of faith, the joy of being a community, a Church, the People of God on their way to heaven. Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by this silent and respectful prayer that reaches us like “a gentle whisper” (cf. 1 Kings 19:9ff). A word that, as with Peter, reaches us and says: “Quick, get up... put on your belt and sandals... warp your cloak around you and follow me!”. If we now look at this text as a whole, we will notice that it follows the story of the Jewish people’s exodus from slavery in Egypt: the reference to Passover (“This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread”, says the text; cf. Ex 12:15-20); Herod’s cruelty recalls that of the king of Egypt (Ex 3 and 10); the night recalls the night of the people’s liberation (Ex 11:4); the angel’s command recalls the command given to the people: “with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand...” (cf. Ex 12:11). The author wants to help us re-read Peter’s experience as a new Exodus in which God once again intervened on behalf of His people. And as with Peter, so Jesus acts towards each one of us.
I have fought the good fight
The second reading presents us with the figure of the apostle Paul, who confides his experience to his disciple Timothy: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day...” And he concludes: ‘But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me… I was rescued… The Lord will rescue me… and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom...” Paul, like Peter, also experienced liberation. He experienced how close the Lord is and how much strength He gives to those who trust in Him. One thing is certain: courage, trust, strength... Paul finds them by keeping his gaze fixed on the Goal, where the Lord awaits him and will clothe him with his crown of righteousness. In these few words, Paul’s testimony urges us to rekindle in ourselves the gift of faith, the certainty that we are not alone on the journey, but that God is with us and accompanies us, along paths that are often hidden, towards heaven, our true homeland.
You are the Christ
Finally, the Gospel presents us with Peter’s primacy, the special role that the Lord Himself entrusts to him. He does so by asking a question: “Who do people say that I am?” It is a question of faith. Jesus is not content to be one name among many, one author among many. Ultimately, the Lord wants to lead us away from the classic formulas that attempt to reduce and sometimes manipulate God, to bring Him within our reach. Jesus is not a saviour like others. It is Peter who reveals Jesus’ identity: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And Jesus replies: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church...” Note that Jesus does not wait for Peter to become perfect – he will never become so anyway! Jesus entrusts to the fragile life of Peter the task of being a guardian, of being first in charity. Regardless if he later denies Him, abandons Him... Peter will be able to recognise his mistake, he will be willing to meet Jesus’ gaze, he will be able to follow the Lord again and, for Him and with Him, continue to cast the nets of his life for the Lord (cf. Mk 1:14ff; Jn 21). Jesus the Lord, however, knows that He has called a man, a fisherman, not an angel. And Peter has understood, and will come to understand more and more, that only in Jesus and with Him will he be able to fulfil the task entrusted to him.
In the world, supported by the example and prayer of Saints Peter and Paul
The experience and witness of Saints Peter and Paul can be an encouragement to us on our journey through life. As we conclude our reflection, let us look back for a moment at the liturgical journey we have completed so far (having just celebrated Pentecost, and then the Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity and of Corpus Christi): Today, we are offered the opportunity of celebrating the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, as if to remind us that it is the gift of the Holy Spirit that impels us, as it once did Saints Peter and Paul, to bear witness to all that God the Trinity is Love; it was the Holy Spirit who instilled in the disciples the courage to come together, running all the risks of that period, to celebrate the Eucharist on the day of the Lord’s Resurrection; it was the Holy Spirit who made them understand that “Without the Eucharist we cannot live”, even at the cost of death. And so Peter, apparently so weak, will die for the Lord Jesus in Rome; and Paul, the persecutor, will likewise die for the One who died for him. May these two great saints help us to find the courage to love as they loved, following the example of Jesus, our Lord.
See also “Saint Peter” and “Saint Paul” in the Saint of the Day section of our website.
