Word to the Wise
Sunday, June 29, 2008 - Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul
[Acts 12:1-11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19]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.
Only a BIG feast can knock a Sunday celebration off the liturgical calendar. Peter and Paul manage to do it! Their importance to Roman Catholic tradition is beyond calculation, but we know that they were very different people! They did not always see eye to eye! An educated tent-maker Pharisee from Asia Minor and a Galilean fisherman - both of whom met Jesus in radically different ways - made for a volatile leadership. The feast offers us the opportunity to see them as individuals AND as what they have come to "mean" for Catholic faith. As individuals, we know them to be strong personalities who had a "take charge" attitude! Peter appears more impulsive. Paul appears to be more determined. They would both die as martyrs in Rome. As symbols, Peter has come to represent the structured and hierarchical character of Roman Catholicism. The pope is called "the successor to Peter." Paul has come to represent the "charismatic" and evangelical side of the church. These characterizations are too neat, as even a casual reading of scripture would reveal, but they are useful for helping us to understand the richness of ministerial opportunity and service within the church. (There is even a "Marian" type of ministry - the caring, and nurturing side.) In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds us of the danger of "choosing sides" in the faith. Even if either the Petrine or Pauline side of the church is more or less attractive to us, it is the preaching of Christ that matters and factionalism is a deadly obstacle to this task. A bit of tension can be creative, however, and we should be willing to live with both these guys as inspirations to powerful service. AMEN
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