Daily reflection _ solemnity of sts. Peter and Paul, apostles


"WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?"
At the Vatican, there are huge statues of the Apostles Peter and Paul, who are considered to be the two pillars of our Faith. Peter, usually pictured as an elderly man with a long beard, holds crossed keys in his hand. Paul, usually pictured as a middle-aged man, holds a sword in his hand. On today's Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul we celebrate the memory of these two early leaders of the Christian Church. Peter was a missionary to the Jews and Paul was a missionary to the Gentiles. Peter's keys signify the authority entrusted to him by Jesus in the unique story in Matthew's Gospel about Christ declaring Peter to be the rock upon which the Church was to be built. Paul's sword represents his enthusiasm for spreading the Good News, which culminated in his beheading in Rome.
In honoring Peter and Paul, we remember the beginnings of the Church and how two distinct groups of the early Christians - Jews and Gentiles - were ultimately united as one. Both of these martyrs gave their lives for the sake of the Gospel and thus, they imitated Jesus! Their blood is the seed of Christianity that continues to grow throughout the world.
We look at Peter a lot and I think it is because we can truly see ourselves in him. In fact we would probably like to go to Peter for confession more than to any of the other Apostles! He is perhaps a more striking example of the simple fact of holiness. Jesus says to us what He said to Peter, "It was not you who chose Me, but I Who chose you" (Jn. 15:16). He might add, "Peter, it is not human wisdom that makes it possible for you to believe, but My Father's revelation. I, not you, build My Church." Paul's experience of the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus was the driving force that made him one of the most zealous, dynamic, and courageous ambassadors of Christ that the Church has ever had. But persecution, humiliation, and weakness became his day-by-day carrying of the cross and material for further transformation. The dying Christ was in him; the living Christ was his life.
At an opportune time, Jesus tests His disciples with a crucial question, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And, "Who do you say that I am" (Mt. 16:13, 15)? Jesus was widely recognized in Israel as a mighty man of God and was even compared to the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. Peter, always quick to respond, exclaimed that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt. 16:16).
Peter's conviction is what gave him the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus then confers this authority to govern the Church out of love - the Church that Jesus built and that no powers would be able to overcome. Through Abraham, God established a nation for Himself. Through faith, Peter, Paul, and the other disciples of Jesus' time were able to grasp Who Jesus truly was. Peter was the first of the Apostles to recognize Jesus as the "Anointed One," the Messiah and Christ. The New Testament describes the Church as a spiritual house or temple with each member joined together as living stones. Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks or spiritual stones and ambassadors as well! Jesus also tests each of us, personally, with the same question, "Who do you say that I am?"

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