So, why were Peter and Paul so passionate about continuing the hard and dangerous work that Jesus had begun? Why would they risk life and limb and dare to walk into the lion’s den – that is, go to Rome – with such boldness? What motivated them to give up everything and go on this mission that would ultimately lead to their death – Peter by crucifixion, upside down, at that – and Paul by being beheaded?
To grasp the depth of their passion, we need to look at their conversion. And, fortunately, Sacred Scriptures provide us with excellent insights into their conversion. With St. Peter, it was a slow process, with many missteps and moments of conversion. With St. Paul, it seems to have been a single moment. And both examples provide us with invaluable encouragement for us as we strive – and sometimes struggle – to both follow Jesus and become his missionary disciples in our lives today. Let’s look at St. Peter’s journey first.
All three synoptic gospels relate Jesus calling Peter to leave behind his trade of a fisherman to become a fisher of men. But, Luke’s gospel provides us with some interesting and significant details surrounding that moment. It occurs after Peter was part of a crowd that was listening to Jesus teach. You will recall that Jesus had borrowed Peter’s boat so he could teach the crowd while sitting in it near the shore. Remember, after he finished speaking, Jesus instructed Peter to put out into the deep and lower his nets for a catch. Peter was reluctant but, when he did so, he brought in such a large catch that their nets were breaking. When Peter saw this, the gospel relates, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” He was immediately aware of his sinfulness in the face of God. Notice Jesus’ response, however. He says to Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Despite his admitted sinfulness, Peter is called to follow Jesus and prepare to eventually become our first pope. Peter does follow Jesus but falters over and over again. Remember when Jesus calls him to walk on water in a storm at sea, how he began to sink as his faith grew weak. But, Jesus pulls him out of the water and back into the boat. And, we hear in today’s Gospel passage that Peter announces correctly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. We don’t hear it but, shortly after he makes this bold proclamation, he then protests as Jesus announces that he must go to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise. Finally, while Jesus is being interrogated by Annas the high priest the night before he is to be crucified, Peter denies knowing him, not once but three times. And yet we hear Jesus bless Peter and call him to the task of leading others to God. We hear that very dramatically in this morning’s gospel passage, where Jesus gives him the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
And, as we hear in today’s first reading, Peter is imprisoned because he was known as a follower of Jesus. As we all know, this doesn’t stop him and he goes on to preach and teach and draw many to our Lord.
For St. Paul, it appears to be the result of a single, significant moment: when he was blinded and knocked to the ground while he was on his way to Damascus to arrest some followers of the New Way, that is, followers of Jesus. He hears the risen Lord speak to him and from that moment on, he seems to be unstoppable in his drive to bring others to the Lord. He even spearheads a radical movement to do this beyond the Jewish community, again in response to inspiration he receives from the Lord.
Of course, Paul’s mission came with significant challenges, suffering and hardships. As he related in his second letter to the Christians in Corinth, he received several beatings at the hand of his fellow Jews. They even stoned him and left him for dead once. He was also shipwrecked three times during his missionary journeys and even spent a day and a night in the ocean after one of those shipwrecks before being rescued. But, he persevered through all of these struggles, encouraged by the messages he received from the Spirit of God, whose promptings guided him. As we hear him boldly declare in this morning’s second reading, the Lord stood by him and gave him strength.
So, both Peter and Paul found their passion to spread the truth of our salvation through their close relationship with Jesus, either in person or through prayer. This is such an important lesson for all of us. Like St. Peter, we will probably falter in our faith and like St. Paul, we will experience hardship as we live our faith and share it with those who aren’t always ready to hear it. But, if we make sure that we remain close to our Lord, we, too, can be instruments of God in sharing the Good News of our salvation. As we celebrate this feast in honor of these great pioneers, let us ask for their intercession to persevere in turning back to God whenever we stray and to remain committed to sharing this precious gift of faith that we have received. May it lead us all to eternal life with God!