Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Lectionary: 591

I, Paul, 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.

Saint Paul was not a shy person who would not, on occasion, boast of his struggles, sufferings and achievements. So we can well imagine the Apostle writing the above paragraph. But scholars generally agree it was written by one of his disciples in his honor, probably after his "departure." It is appropriate that we should hear this kind of reading on this "solemnity." 

Though not a holy day of obligation, a solemnity is higher than a memorial or feastday. Today we celebrate Saints Peter and Paul, the two most important apostles of Jesus, the men who were most instrumental in the foundation of the new religion based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This new religion, unlike Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish or Muslim religions, honors the "Church" which always existed in the Spirit and Mind of God. It was clearly revealed to us at Pentecost, after Jesus had built its human foundations upon the apostles. Its fullest revelation remains to be seen. When God appears in glory on the Day of Judgment, then the universe will recognize the Church Faithful, Beautiful and Triumphant. In the meanwhile, we are a Church on pilgrimage, sinful and repentant, hopeful, patient and suffering in travail. If we boast at all, it is only in our weakness. The world may think our faith is ridiculous but we will not lay down the crosses the Lord has assigned to each of us. We carry them with confidence and quiet joy to Calvary. 

On this particular solemnity we remember Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It is probably no accident that we have such clear insight into the frailties of these two men. The Spirit of God wanted us to see what we cannot see in Jesus. No one, not even the evangelists, can probe the mind of Jesus. Novelists and pop psychologists will try to tell us what the Savior thought and felt and how he reacted to various situations -- and I've tried my hand at it on occasion -- but he remains shrouded in the Cloud of Holiness. To understand that the Gospel is truly approachable and in some measure comprehensible, we contemplate these two saints. 

Peter was loyal and impetuous, a natural leader. As one Veteran reminded me lately, one cannot command obedience unless one is obedient. Peter knew how to rebuke because he had been rebuked. He knew how to allow the Spirit to guide him beyond his own expectations, as when Saint Paul insisted that gentiles should be equal members of the Church. 

Saint Paul was a tireless missionary. After the Lord had revealed what he should do, no human authority --civil or religious, Jewish or Christian -- could dissuade him. He shook off beatings and imprisonment, scorn and contempt as a dog shakes off rain water. But he had a heart soft like a fresh cupcake, and he was intensely loyal to his friends. His shortcomings are there in his writings for the world to see. Anyone who thinks the saints are perfectly unlike the rest of us has never read his letters. 

This solemnity celebrates the human messiness of the Church and the purity of the Holy Spirit which drives us. Although we are vessels of clay;  we are vassals of God.