June 29, 2008, Feast of St. Peter and Paul
Acts 12:1-11 II Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 Matthew 16:13-19
To the churched and unchurched[2]
gathered in a church not built by human hands[3]
Second reading
For me, Paul, the hour has come to be sacrificed; the time is here for me to leave this life. I have done my best in running the race; I have run the full distance. I have kept the faith, and now the prize of victory is waiting for me -- the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day -- and not only to me, but to all who wait with love for Him to appear. The Lord has stood by me and given me strength, so that I was able to proclaim the full message for all the Gentiles to hear, and I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. And the Lord will rescue me from all evil, and take me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever! Amen. (II Timothy, 4:6-8, 17-18)
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord.
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Mt 16:13-19)
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Introduction
June 29 -- the feast of St .Peter & Paul
Today is June 29 and the feast of St. Peter and Paul. Like Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of the city of Rome,[4] Peter and Paul are the founders of the faith in the Eternal City -- the center of Christendom. Because the feast is so important to the Universal Church it replaces what would normally be today the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
The June 29 feast commemorates Peter and Paul’s martyrdom. The Scriptures do not record their deaths or the deaths of any of the Apostles except of James the son of Zebedee. (Acts 12:2) But very early tradition has always maintained that the two were martyred in Rome at the command of the Roman Emperor Nero (58–63) and were buried there. The June 29 date refers to a day around 258 A.D. when, under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Valerian (253-260), the remains of the two apostles were moved temporarily to prevent them from falling into the hands of the persecutors.
Of the five or six hundred great churches which dot Rome, two tower above them all in importance: the Basilica of St. Peter at the Vatican and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Down through the centuries both basilicas have attracted an endless flow of pilgrims. Tradition locates Peter’s martyrdom where the Basilica of St. Peter now stands and his burial place directly beneath its high altar. Tradition locates St. Paul’s martyrdom by beheading at the Tre Fontane along the Via Ostiense and locates his burial at the spot where the Basilica of St. Paul now stands.
Pope Benedict XVI at St. Paul’s, 2007
On June 28, 2007, Pope Benedict went to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside The Walls where for 2,000 years the remains of the Apostle Paul lay under the papal altar. He participated in a Vesper Service in anticipation of the next day’s feast. To celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of Paul’s birth, Benedict used the occasion to announce the “Year of St. Paul” extending from June 29, 2008 to June 29, 2009. He announced also that in the basilica and the Benedictine abbey attached to it a series of liturgical, cultural and ecumenical events would take place. “Special attention,” he said, “will be given to pilgrims who from various parts of the world will want to go to the tomb of the Apostle Paul in a penitential way in order to find spiritual benefits.”
Pope John XXIII at St. Paul’s, 1959
Benedict’s announcement of the “Year of St. Paul” in the Basilica of St. Paul calls to mind another pope’s visit to that great basilica and the startling announcement he made there. On October 28, 1958 Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, born of peasant extraction, was elected pope and took the name of John XXIII. Then on January 25 of 1959 he went to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls to celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. There good Pope John took the occasion to announce his intention to hold an ecumenical council! After three years of preparation, in the Basilica of St. Peter’s on October 11, 1962, the bitter-sweet event of Vatican II burst upon the Catholic Church!
One feast for two great saints!
If we look through the church calendar, we find that neither Peter nor Paul has a feast day devoted to him and only to him. It is true that Catholics celebrate a feast entitled The Chair of Peter on February 22. The gospel that day recounts the words of Jesus to Peter: “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.” (Mt 16:18) That feast celebrates the authority of Peter’s chair, but it does not celebrate Peter himself.
Catholics also celebrate the feast of The Conversion of St. Paul. On January 25, it commemorates the occasion when Paul, traveling to Damascus to persecute Christians there, was suddenly struck down from his horse by a vision of Jesus of Nazareth who asked, “Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:1-9) That feast, too, celebrates the conversion of Paul but not Paul himself.
St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic, St. Theresa of Lisieux and all the other saints each have a feast day devoted to him or her as individuals, but Peter and Paul do not. Why is there only one feast honoring these two great saints? Why are they commemorated together? It is because Peter and Paul together eloquently speak a single simple message. Both were dead-sure of themselves, and both had a vision which changed their minds!
The conversion of St. Paul
Paul was dead-sure that the early Christians were heretics and should be arrested, tried, and put to death. Chapter Nine of Acts relates the vision which converted him. As Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians there, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. He was thrown from his horse and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” That vision converted Saul who had been dead-sure that the followers of Jesus should be persecuted as heretics. He became Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles. (Acts 9:1-9)
The conversion of St. Peter
Peter, too, underwent a great conversion. He was dead-sure that Gentiles were unclean. Chapter Ten of Acts relates the vision which converted him. One day he went up on the flat roof of his house to pray. It was noon, and he was hungry, but while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance and had a vision. He saw the sky open and something like a large sheet coming down and being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air, which Jews were forbidden to eat.. Then Peter heard a voice saying, “Get up, kill and eat! “ “Never, Lord, never!” Peter protested. “I have never in all my life eaten such creatures, for they are forbidden by our Jewish dietary laws.” Then the voice spoke again, “Don’t contradict God! If He says something is kosher then it is kosher!” The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was pulled up into heaven again.
When Cornelius, a Roman centurion and Gentile, known for his charities and beloved by the Jewish people, sent for Peter to come to his house to tell him what God wanted him to do, Peter came immediately. (Acts 10:22) He addressed a crowd gathered there, saying, “You know it is against Jewish laws for me to enter into a Gentile house like this. But God has shown me in a vision that I should never call any man profane or unclean. So I came as soon as I was summoned. Now tell me what do you want.” Cornelius then told Peter that he and the crowd gathered were anxious to hear some good word from him. Peter did, indeed, deliver a good word to them. He told them about the remarkable change of heart and mind that had come upon him as the result of a vision. “I have finally come to see,” he said, “that Jews are not God’s only favorites! Anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to Him!” (Acts 10:28-35)
Their message
The message which Peter and Paul, founders of the church in Rome, speak eloquently together is that no matter how strong our views might be, we must be ready to change our minds, for God might hold another view. In fact, the stronger our views are the more ready we should be to change our minds.
Throughout these endless presidential debates one candidate has charged the other with changing his or her mind about this or that. There is something worse than a person who changes his mind, and that is a person who never changes his mind, no matter what!
Conclusion
A Roman church reflecting its founders
Peter changed his mind about Gentiles. In the Jewish world-view that was a big change. Paul changed his mind about Jesus of Nazareth and His followers. In his little world, which delighted in persecuting heretics, that, too, was a big change. Blessed are these two founders of the church in Rome who had the courage and humility to change their minds!
Blessed also is a Roman church which has the courage and humility to change its mind, if God might hold another view. Blessed is a Roman church that can change its mind not only about who are God’s favorites but also about the other issues which trouble the church -- like divorce and remarriage, birth control, homosexuality, celibacy, the ordination of women, etc. Such a Roman church will reflect the spirit of its two great founders who had the courage and humility to change their minds.
[1] These two statues of Peter and Paul stand in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, one to the right and one to the left.
[2]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!
[3] Acts of the Apostles 17:24
[4] Romulus and Remus are depicted throughout Rome by statutes and images of two infants suckling a she-wolf.
