Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
Acts 12:1–11; 2 Timothy 4:6–8, 17–18; Matthew 16:13–19
Today the Church remembers two great apostles.
Peter and Paul.
So different. So human. So wounded. So chosen.
Peter walked with Jesus on the roads of Galilee.
Paul met the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus.
Peter heard the voice of Jesus beside the lake.
Paul heard the voice of Jesus while he was still fighting against Him.
Peter denied. Paul persecuted.
And yet, on these two weak men, Christ built His Church.
Their greatness did not begin with their strength.
It began with a name.
At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks His disciples:
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They knew the answers.
So do we.
But then Jesus asks the deeper question:
“But who do you say that I am?”
This question cannot be answered by repeating what others say.
Not by culture. Not by family tradition. Not by public opinion. Not by habit.
The answer must be revealed.
So the one to whom it was revealed answers:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And Paul?
It had not yet been revealed to him when, on the road to Damascus, the Risen Jesus stopped him.
The persecutor fell to the ground.
He was welcomed by those whom he had persecuted.
He learned the truth from those he had wanted to destroy.
Then the Lord says to one of them, Ananias:
“This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name.”
To carry the name of Jesus.
That was Paul’s vocation. That was his fire. That was the secret of his strength.
The name he preached. The name he suffered for. The name he trusted when everyone abandoned him.
Peter reminds us that faith begins with confession:
“You are the Christ.”
Paul reminds us that faith becomes mission:
“I carry Your name.”
And this is where the feast touches us.
We all confess Peter’s faith:
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
We all carry Jesus’ name.
To our families. To our workplaces. To our classrooms. To our friendships.
In a world where many know Jesus only vaguely, or wrongly, or not at all.
Peter gives us the confession. Paul gives us the passion.
The Lord who chose them, wounded and weak as they were, has also chosen us.
So let the name we confess with our lips become the name we carry with our lives.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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