The 29th June is a special feast in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, for it celebrates the principal patrons of the Church of Rome, St Peter and St Paul. As Saint John Paul II affirms in the encyclical Ut Unum Sint: "By a mysterious design of Providence it is at Rome that [Peter] concludes his journey in following Jesus, and it is at Rome that he gives his greatest proof of love and fidelity. Likewise Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, gives his supreme witness at Rome. In this way the Church of Rome became the Church of Peter and of Paul" (par. 90).
In his 2012 homily on the occasion, Pope Benedict XVI states that: "Christian tradition has always considered Saint Peter and Saint Paul to be inseparable: indeed, together, they represent the whole Gospel of Christ. In Rome, their bond as brothers in the faith came to acquire a particular significance. Indeed, the Christian community of this City considered them a kind of counterbalance to the mythical Romulus and Remus, the two brothers held to be the founders of Rome." What is especially striking is the fact that they are both so different and similar in many ways and, yet, the two encapsulate a wholeness in the Church (unity and diversity), a wholeness which extends beyond particularity. This, serves as a reminder that the mission in the Church belongs solely to Christ, who has chosen to entrust this mission to different human beings from different backgrounds, with their strength and weaknesses, and also with a fair share of disagreement.
Ultimately, as St John Paul II reminds us in Ut Unum Sint, "It is important to note how the weakness of Peter and of Paul clearly shows that the Church is founded upon the infinite power of grace." (par. 91) The call of both these two apostles is set upon a backdrop of grace. Immediately after Simon acknowledges the identity of the Messiah, Christ assigns him the mission of being the "rock" of the Church (Mt 16, 16-19). Yet, this is almost immediately followed by a rebuke from Jesus after Peter refuses to accept the passion, death and resurrection which Jesus has to undergo (Mt 16, 22-23), and also the subsequent denials. Peter's special mission of shepherding the flock arises out of mercy and conversion. Again, "this same role of Peter, similarly linked with a realistic affirmation of his weakness, appears again in the Fourth Gospel: "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? ... Feed my sheep" (cf. Jn 21:15-19)" (UUS, 91). And yet again, we are reminded that, "the new community founded by Jesus Christ, extends to all of history, far beyond the personal existence of Peter himself."
The authority, symbolised by the keys, with which Peter and the apostles have been entrusted, according to the injunctions in Mt 18, 18 ("Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”) and Jn 20, 22-23 (“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven: if you retain the sins of any, they are retained") attest to a mission of service, and not of power. This has important ramifications for the role of the papacy which is, ultimately, a role of service. History has shown us all too often the serious repercussions of a misunderstanding of this role.
The book of Acts attests to the birth and development of the early Church, hinging on the mission of the prominent apostles, Peter and Paul. What is especially interesting is that while the first half of the book underscores the mission of Peter and the eleven apostles in Jerusalem, the second half is dedicated to Peter's mission among the Gentiles. This, in turn, is followed by the letters, most of which are penned down by Paul himself, or are attributed to him.
This brings home the message that no one person has an exclusivity in the mission of the Church, which belongs to Christ alone. While earlier on, we have focused on the position and the role of Peter, this eschews any exclusivity in the choice made by God. It is significant that in Acts 10, 34, Peter states that "God shows no partiality" in his gradual realisation about the inclusion of the Gentiles in the Church. The position of Paul is described so eloquently by the Orthodox theologian, Olivier Clément: "If there is something of the institution in Peter's role, Paul appears as the charismatic apostle." Moreover, as Clément, continues, "Paul's call is proof that grace can bypass institutions, since he, Paul - the 'child untimely born,' the erstwhile persecutor of the Church - was made an apostle alongside, as it were, the newly reconstituted structure of the Twelve."
Ut Unum Sint underscores the importance of grace in the call of both Peter and Paul. The same abundant grace flowing from God is that which channels the zeal of Paul to uphold the Law into the zeal to spread the Good News among the Gentiles. Like Peter, Christ's calling renders him aware of Christ's grace. He acknowledges his shameful past and he is able to exclaim that "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." As a result, he can exclaim: "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:9-10). His indefatigable mission of evangelisation among the Gentiles, represented by the image of the sword, as Benedict XVI explains) leads him to a confrontation with Peter, culminating in Acts 15, 2-35, it is Paul's idea which predominates among the apostles and the elders at the Council of Jerusalem.
The mission of the Peter and Paul ultimately serves to remind us of our role and mission within the Church, all with our varying charisms. God is impartial in his calling to a specific role and there is no place for a monopoly on a mission. The structures of sin can still present a distorted image of our roles, confounding service with power. This is why we must, with the help of the Spirit, accept the calling in total humility, which enables us to see our true selves with all our strengths and weaknesses. The calling of Peter and Paul, inextricably bound to weakness, is a reminder of God's infinite love which transcends human categories and dichotomies of strength and weakness. God's calling entails a conversion of our whole selves, even in the process of serving our neighbours.
Works cited:
Olivier Clément, You are Peter. An Orthodox Theologian's Reflection on the Exercise of Papal Primacy. New York: New City Press, 2003.
Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on the Feast of St Peter and St Paul: https://saltandlighttv.org/blogfeed/getpost.php?id=37921
Pope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint: