Today, the Church celebrates two Princes and Pillars of the Church, in Saints Peter and Paul. The celebration of today’s Solemnity brings to mind the contributions of these great Apostles to the growth and spread of Christianity. Both Apostles accepted Christ whole and entire, which the Lord called them to take. The commitment of these Apostles led them to the ends of the world, in their quest to proclaim the Gospel. They had great passion to work for God and to defend the faith. Saint Peter, a fisherman, was known to be humble, docile, modest, even fearful, but full of enthusiasm and fervour.
On the other hand, Saint Paul, who once antagonized the Church, with the same strength and firmness, loved the Church in his journey of faith to gentile territories. For all their differences, they had at least one thing in common which was their faith in the Lord and their willingness to give their lives in God’s service. Eventually, both of these great Apostles were martyred in Rome during the rule and persecution under Emperor Nero. Though they were not spared death, it was clear that God intervened to save them from fear of losing their lives for the sake of the Gospel.
They were united in death. They are the great champions of the Christian faith which we still celebrate today. By our Christian living experiences, we are motivated and obliged to do the same, by giving our all for the sake of Christ and the Church here on earth. Our backgrounds, gifts, personalities can all be different, yet we can be one in the Lord. We give expressions to our faith and relationship with our Lord, in a way that is unique to each one of us. Saint Paul uses the image of the human body to express this unity in diversity of the Church. As a result, Christians today must be totally committed to the message of Christ. Worldly allurements, pleasures and persecutions must not distract us from our evangelical goals and true treasures. In all, God never abandons those who endanger their lives for the sake of the Gospel.
As we celebrate Saints Peter and Paul today, we give thanks to God for our distinctive faith journeys, believing that we too will be counted worthy as champions of the faith as well. Our satisfaction at the end of our sojourn here on earth should be that one has graciously lived up to expectation, by warding off evil ideals that are opposed to the demands of the Gospel and upholding the faith. Our discovery of the ways of Christ must be a personal one. To Jesus’ personalized question to His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” or better put, ‘What do you think of me?’ Peter’s subjective revelation of the objective truth about the Redeemer is a challenge for all followers of God’s will.
And so, how do we know that God is speaking to us? Is it just a chatter in our minds reflecting our personalistic beliefs and ideologies? Our knowledge of Jesus must never be at second hand. Christianity never consists in knowing about Jesus but in knowing Jesus. This goes beyond memorizing doctrines and Scriptural passages or embracing being mere nominal Christians. In our confession of faith, we are to imbibe truth factors. In a portion of today’s Gospel text, Matthew 16:17-19 highlights the fact that Peter was the first to take a leap of faith in discovering who Jesus was and continually is, that is, the Son of the Living God. As such, every other person who makes the same discovery as Peter is another rock added into the foundation of the Church of Christ.
Proper witnessing and fidelity to God’s commands, holds the Church together. This pinpoints the fellowship of all believers in Jesus Christ, who love the Lord. The analogy of the keys given to Peter was made manifest at Pentecost, as the door of faith was opened to about 3000 souls, as evident in Acts 2:41 and more to come. Surely, destiny struggles to re-assert the pattern that was meant to be for all the faithful. All believers partake in this opening of the door to the Kingdom by being stewards to the great promise of Christ. Just as great responsibilities were laid upon Peter, our decision-making processes as Christians goes a very long way in either making or marring the welfare of the Church.
The duty of binding and loosing meant that Peter would have to take decisions about the Church’s life and practice, which would have the most far-reaching consequences on Salvific encounters. With time to come, Peter who had made a great discovery in the Saviour, would act as an administrator who guides and directs the work of the infant Church. It is a similar discovery, with a great privilege and responsibility which we all must make for ourselves. However, as embodied in the second letter of Saint Paul’s testimony to Timothy, we should not be oblivious of the fact that we would be faced with challenging situations that will reveal our limitations/imperfections as humans, especially when working for Gospel values.
Our consolation at the end of the day would be that: “Whatever is invested in God cannot be devalued” (Cf. 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18). Ever since Saint Paul’s conversion, he had offered everything to God- his money, time, physical strength, acuteness of mind and the devotion of his heart. Only life itself was left to offer, and gladly he was going to lay it down for the true treasure that God offers. This reminds us that there is no satisfaction in all the world other than knowing that we have done our best as the Body of Christ, in keeping the faith, having commended ourselves to the presence and grace of the Holy Spirit. Like Saints Peter and Paul, their coming together is very important for the Church’s self-understanding. They represent fundamental archetypes in the life of the Church.
Peter represents order and direction, of which all leaders of the Church of whatever sphere are descendants from. Without this Petrine element, the Church would lack a stronghold that would protect her integrity. On the other hand, Paul represents a balancing archetype in the life of the Church namely (practical) theology, speculation, evangelization (the missionary impulse) and the engagement of the culture. He was the first one to practice the concept of ‘faith seeking understanding.’ Saints Peter and Paul together gives the Church its energy, integrity, creativity, impetus and life. A Church without chains and walls but driven with enthusiasm for the Gospel.
Adopting John Henry Newman’s reviews on the dynamic tension between the Petrine office which emphasizes the authority of the Pope and the Pauline theology which emphasizes insights on justification by faith, we can boldly assert that without the Petrine element of the Church, the Pauline element will run out of control and without the Pauline element, the Church will become almost lifeless. Both elements co-existing together is a proper apostolic partnership and model that God willed for the Church (2 Peter 3:15). As distinctive as their personalities were, the Divine wisdom and truth of Christ in their writings was surely evident in the heart of the Church.
A chain is just as strong as its weakest link. An extreme of either brings about the dissensions we have seen throughout the history of the Church. The persecution and sufferings we face today are as a result of people following their own interests without taking cognizance of others. We all have a responsibility to fight the good fight in our missionary outreach and contributions for the Church. We must not remain passive spectators but with humility be committed to taking centre stage in living after God’s own heart.
There are no first or second-class Christians, for we are all called to stand for the truth of the Good News. Let us be careful of the perversion of clericalism and that which has to do with an apparent disregard or trivializing of the spiritual disciplines that build up faith in our society at large. May Saints Peter and Paul intercede for us, the Church and the entire world, as we place all our hope in the Triune God, in whom we live, move and have our being, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
• Rev. Fr. Louis Anyanwu, Associate Parish Priest, Catholic Church of the Nativity, Festac, Archdiocese of Lagos.
