Readings: Acts 12: 1-11; Ps. 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (5b); 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16: 13-19
Our journey from Easter Morning to the Ascension, from Pentecost through the Trinity to the celebration of Corpus Christi to the present has brought us a long way! So if you’re not sure what God is calling us to do, consider this challenge: Continue to be a people of life, and share the Good News, baptizing one another in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, living together as and nourished by the one Body in Christ, always pointing the way to the Truth and the Life, and most importantly, allow your hearts to love and to be broken by the same things that move and break the heart of Jesus!
Today is the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and our liturgy and faith journey brings us through a gateway of authentic discipleship supported by two pillars and who are our greatest Apostles! With their paths only crossing a few times, it's ironic that this Solemnity would combine the two into one day, but we do so because they were unified in their purpose and work. Both gave their all, with maximum effort and the greatest of faith, making the ultimate sacrifice in the giving of their lives, with their legacy rooted in the establishment of Christ’s Church on earth, but both came from very different starting points. Peter was there from the start when Jesus approached him and brothers near his boat. Paul needed a little convincing to change his ways. Today’s Mass offers us an opportunity to reflect on three things: What was the starting point of your individual faith journey? How are you prepared to give your all for the good of the Faith? And what will be your legacy?
Like St. Peter, there are some of us who are Cradle Catholics, having been there from the beginning. At his start, Peter had a lot of questions and a healthy amount of skepticism. He knew his way around the sea, so when Christ invited him to become a fisher of people, it took a while for him to truly understand what it all meant and what Jesus needed him to do. He tried to do things his own way at first, but as we hear in today’s Gospel, he came to proclaim for all that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God… A good thing to proclaim for sure! But when Jesus forbade the group of Apostles to reveal this to anyone, and began to teach them of His impending suffering, it was Peter’s humanness that rebuked the Lord, saying that they would never let that happen… A not so good idea for sure! Us Cradle Catholics need to pay attention to Peter here, for its one thing to know the answer, and speak the right words, but it’s another thing to learn the true meaning of what Christ is actually trying to teach us. Peter did learn, and he did act with courage and conviction, because he stayed with it, and remained open to the deep understanding that he was called to reflect upon and live out. Don’t lose sight of the fact that he was freed from prison because of his openness to the Spirit, and his willingness to trust and follow! For those who have been Catholic all your life, especially those who have made a detour or two and come home, your willingness to stick with it and follow the Spirit out of your own personal prisons is something to be celebrated and affirmed… We are the Church, the people of God!
Like St. Paul, there are some of us who came to the faith from other beginnings than with the Church, and came to know Jesus Christ through a unique and personal revelation. For Paul this came during a time that he was not intending to be Christian at all. In fact, he was too busy supporting their persecution to actually be one. His life changed with an adult epiphany and a baptism that helped him see who Christ truly was, calling him to act on the faith, with the same fervor as when he tried to stamp it all out. His conversion, like some of ours, was a brave acceptance of a call to change course and embrace the Lord. Like Paul's, your journey has rescued you from every threat, promising you eternal life, and not just suffering.
Then there are those just getting started on their faith journey. Let me say THANK YOU, for you are the ones that encourage us, as you are about to take the same leap of faith that both Peter and Paul had to take. You are the ones that inspire us as you show courage in the face of trial. You are the ones that remind us of that burning desire that we once felt, and need to feel again!
Which brings us to our second point of reflection, a great equalizer of sorts, for no matter what the beginning point of your faith journey may be, we are unified in this same question: Are you willing to give your all for the faith? Both Peter and Paul gave their lives for the faith, as the Scripture tells us that Peter was crucified and tradition has it that Paul beheaded. Theirs was the greatest act of love as they, in the words of John’s Gospel, laid down their lives for their friends! I can’t make any promises, but it would seem that our heads are not in too much jeopardy at this point, which forces us to think a little deeper on exactly how we plan to give our all in the laying down of our lives for our friends. This is what some would call Authentic Discipleship, or the giving of our daily lives for one another in the name of the Lord, and here’s how you can add it to your own journey of faith, by giving your all…
PROCLAIM THE FAITH!
St. Peter’s proclamation in today’s Gospel is also ours, as we too must consider who Christ is in our lives, and tell the world that Jesus is our Messiah, the Son of the living God! If Jesus is a friend to you, be a better friend in your listening this week. If Jesus is brother, mend a relationship within your family. If Jesus is redeemer, reconcile a shattered piece of your heart. The nouns we use to describe Jesus must become the verbs we use to live out our faith for the world... Jesus is friend, so we must be friends... Jesus is family, and so we are family!
WITNESS THE FAITH!
Paul’s witness of the faith in today’s Second Reading should also be ours, as we too are called to empty ourselves in our work for the faith, as we too are “poured out like a libation” so as to compete well, finish the race and keep the faith. St. Paul illustrates all too well that discipleship is not designed to be easy. You’re supposed to be tired, with bumps, bruises and scars galore. Dare I say that when someone says, “You look beat.” I hope you can respond with a heart-felt, “THANK YOU,” for all of the right reasons! The witness is not so much in your speech, but through your actions, and in your genuine willingness to serve!
SHARE THE FAITH!
To be as bold as St. Peter requires deep love and wild passion that cannot be tamed; being willing to break out of any prison, or those worldly things trying to hold you back from sharing the Good News with others. St. Paul had the same unstoppable and unquenchable desire to boldly proclaim and share Jesus’ love and Good News walking over 2600 miles in his three major journeys throughout the known world, meeting people, shaking hands, enduring stones, and building relationships with communities, truly baptizing nations of people! We too need to be bold and compassionate in the sharing of our faith wherever we go! But don’t confuse my motivational tone with too much pride, for above all, an authentic disciple is HUMBLE! There’s a fine line in our human history, between sharing, debating and conquering. Notice that St. Peter was our first Pope, and St. Paul never became King.
The legacy of Sts. Peter and Paul is the Church! Their proclamation, witness and shared Good News was a message of hope and liberation, not in the sense of opposition to a tyrannical government or an oppressive political party, but the liberation of the Gospel, and the freedom that comes from everlasting life! This kind of freedom tends to cause one to feel re-energized about the roots of their faith, or to have a feeling of promise as they enter a new chapter in a life-long spiritual journey! So let us conclude with a very challenging question, that needs no expounding upon. Let us just be willing to place its answer in the hands of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of the living God, here at His table… Sts. Peter and Paul have already run their race and made theirs… So what will be your legacy?
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