STABILITY AND MOBILITY IN THE CHURCH SOLEMNITY OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL (APOSTLES)

HOMILY ON THE SOLEMNITY OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL (APOSTLES)

STABILITY AND MOBILITY IN THE CHURCH

Acts 12:1-11

2 Tim 4:6-8,17-18

Matthew 16:14-19

Good morning dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the solemnity of two extraordinary pillars of discipleship; the outstanding St. Peter and the impressive St. Paul. These two amazing apostles, though, were diverse in personality and mission both were assigned in the tradition of the church the same day of celebration which is the 29th day of June. 

History holds that on the 29th of June in the year 258,  the remains of these two remarkable apostles were brought and deposited in St. Sebastian's Catacombs in Rome before the remains were eventually moved to their respective places: the remains of St. Peter were restored to the Basilica in the Vatican, whereas the remains of St. Paul were restored to the Basilica of St. Paul. A church was built at the catacombs in the 4th century and was celebrated on the 29th of June, to the martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul. It is important to note that in their lifetime, they did not even work so approximately; for the church already celebrates in honour of St. Peter, “the Chair of St. Peter” and in honour of St. Paul, “the conversion of St. Paul”. However, the church in her wisdom chose to celebrate them on the same day. 

This gives us the prerogative to compare these two saints. 

Prior to the call of Peter, he was known as Simon, while before the call of Paul, he was also known as Saul. Peter hailed from Gallilee while Paul's origin of birth was Tarsus. Peter was a fisherman by profession (Lk 5:1), he was humble, docile, modest and at times weak, he was full of enthusiasm and of faith and love (Lk 5:8, Jn 13:9, 1 Peter 5:1, Mt 14:30, Jn 6:68, Jn 21:15-17 etc). Peter was the one whom the Lord delivered from the fear of the cross. We are told that when Jesus began to instruct them that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great sufferings and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Mt 16:21), “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying, God forbid it, this shall never happen to you” (Mt 16:22). Peter was also the one who denied Jesus three times out of fear (Mt26:69-75, Mk 14:66-72, Lk 2256-62). He had his moments of downfall. 

While Paul was a tent maker by Profession, a learned man taught by the premier teacher Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). Thus, gifted in speech and eloquence. He was a pharisee and a cruel persecutor of the church (Acts 9:5), a bitter enemy of the Name Jesus Christ. He helped in stoning Stephen to death. Until the day the Lord stood by him, with his Power and Resurrection, not to punish him but to convert him. He became the most ardent apostle of Christ. Christ gave him the strength so that through him the message might be fully proclaimed and that all Gentiles might hear it. God rescued Paul from the lion's mouth and evil attack and saved him for his heavenly kingdom (2 Tim 4:17-18). So Paul like Peter had his downfall moments. 

St. Peter was renamed 'Rock' by Jesus to indicate the stability of the foundation of the Church in a world that is becoming more and more confused and unstable. Peter is the unshakable rock of the church. (Mt 16:16) He holds the first place in the college of the Twelve apostles to indicate the indispensable bond of the unity of the universal church. St. Paul, on the other hand, was the ardent missionary to the Gentiles. He broke the barriers of limiting the Gospel to the Jewish community only. Through the instrumentality of St. Paul, the Gospel spread to the Gentile world without destabilizing the stability and unity of the church at the centre. This is one of the remarkable achievements in the church. Both Sts. Paul and Peter died as Martyr in the church. Indeed, both saints had fought the good fight to the end; they have ran the race to the finish; they have kept the faith intact; and thus, God has put on them the crown of righteousness.

Beloved in Christ, St Peter and St Paul even though were of different personalities, both are highly complementary in the church. By their exemplary lives, they have shown us how much we need both stability and mobility in the Church. There are those priests who travel to preach the word of God as missionaries on the one hand, and those who are sedentary in the preaching of the word of God. All are geared towards the same purpose of winning souls for God. Consequently, let us be disposed to answer the call of God just as St. Paul and St. Peter answered the call of God fervently, despite their respective weaknesses. Remember, dear child of God that God writes straight even on crooked lines. May we through the graces of God, not allow our weaknesses in life to dissuade us from picking up ourselves once again to show our love to Christ and the church. 

Have a solemn celebration!

Fr Remigius Okafor osj