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SOLEMNITY OF ST. PETER & ST. PAUL ~ JUNE 29, 2025

SOLEMNITY OF ST. PETER & ST. PAUL ~ JUNE 29, 2025

THE MEN OF KEY & PEN

Today we honour two of greatest apostles of the Lord who served, suffered and died for the Lord. One held the Key to lead the Church and other used the Pen to proclaim for ages to come the love of Christ. Let us listen to what St. Gregory of Nyssa, bishop has to say about the men we honour today; “Consider the feelings of a man who looks down into the depths of the sea from the top of a mountain. This is like my own experience when the voice of the Lord from on high, as from a mountaintop, reached the unfathomable depths of my intellect. Along the seacoast, you may often see mountains facing the sea. It is as though they had been sliced in two, with a sheer drop from top to bottom. At the top a projection forms a ledge overhanging the depths below. If a man were to look down from that ledge, he would be overcome by dizziness. In this same way my soul grows dizzy when it hears the great voice of the Lord saying: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. The vision of God is offered to those who have purified their hearts. Yet, no man has seen God at any time. These are the words of the great Saint John, and they are confirmed by Saint Paul’s lofty thought, in the words: God is he whom no one has seen or can see. He is that smooth, steep and sheer rock, on which the mind can find no secure resting place to get a grip or lift ourselves up. In the view of Moses, he is inaccessible. Despite every effort, our minds cannot approach him. We are cut off by the words: No man can see God and live. And yet, to see God is eternal life. But John, Paul and Moses, pillars of our faith, all testify that it is impossible to see God. Look at the dizziness that affects the soul drawn to contemplating the depths of these statements. If God is life, then he who does not see God does not see life. Yet God cannot be seen; the apostles and prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit, have testified to this. Into what straits is man’s hope driven! Yet God does raise and sustain our flagging hopes. He rescued Peter from drowning and made the sea into a firm surface beneath his feet. He does the same for us; the hands of the Word of God are stretched out to us when we are out of our depth, buffeted and lost in speculation. Grasped firmly in his hands, we shall be without fear: Blessed are the pure of heart, he says, for they shall see God.

St. Peter a fisherman who became “fisher of men” is the chosen vessel of the Lord who though he had shown weaknesses so many times, the Lord chose him to be the rock upon which the Church was built, and the gates of Hades would not prevail. Why did Jesus choose St. Peter when there were many young and strong men among his disciples? Why did Jesus give authority to St. Peter after his confession that “You are Son of the living God”?  I believe that St. Peter took the adversity and trails and mistakes he encountered and continued to love Jesus without any hesitation. The authority to St. Peter after his confession about the true divinity of Christ. I believe St. Peter’s weakness was strength for the Lord who gave him authority because the Lord knew that his confession is not mere words coming out of his mouth but the strong faith he had in the Lord. St. John Chrysostom talking about the weakness, explains very well that those who are rooted in him, will always have strength in him: “It was clear through unlearned men that the cross was persuasive, in fact, it persuaded the whole world. Their discourse was not of unimportant matters but of God and true religion, of the Gospel way of life and future judgment, yet it turned plain, uneducated men into philosophers. How the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and his weakness stronger than men! In what way is it stronger? It made its way throughout the world and overcame all men; countless men sought to eradicate the very name of the Crucified, but that name flourished and grew ever mightier. Its enemies lost out and perished; the living who waged a war on a dead man proved helpless. Therefore, when a Greek tells me I am dead, he shows only that he is foolish indeed, for I, whom he thinks a fool, turns out to be wiser than those reputed wise. So too, in calling me weak, he shows that he is weaker still. For the good deeds which tax-collectors and fishermen were able to accomplish by God’s grace, the philosophers, the rulers, the countless multitudes cannot even imagine.

Paul had this in mind when he said: The weakness of God is stronger than men. The preaching of these men was indeed divine, and is brought home to us in the same way. For how otherwise could twelve uneducated men, who lived on lakes and rivers and wastelands, get the idea for such an immense enterprise? How could men who perhaps had never been in a city or a public square think of setting out to do battle with the whole world? That they were fearful, timid men, the evangelist makes clear; he did not reject the fact or try to hide their weaknesses. Indeed, he turned these men into a proof of the truth. What did he say of them? That when Christ was arrested, the others fled, despite all the miracles they had seen, while he who was leader of the others denied him! How then account for the fact that these men, who in Christ’s lifetime did not stand up to the attacks by the Jews, set forth to do battle with the whole world once Christ was dead—if, as you claim, Christ did not rise and speak to them and rouse their courage? Did they perhaps say to themselves: “What is this? He could not save himself, but how will he protect us? He did not help himself when he was alive, but now that he is dead, how will he extend a helping hand to us? In his lifetime he brought no nation under his banner, but by uttering his name we will win over the whole world?” Would it not be wholly irrational even to think such thoughts, much less to act upon them? It is evident, then, that if they had not seen him risen and had proof of his power, they would not have risked so much”.

We must remember that we live in a time and world where people want to have power and authority over other people of which, in recent decades, we have seen so many examples; however, there is a difference between worldly and spiritual authority. In the worldly authority people are self centered, but in the spiritual authority, people care about others without any greed or reward. This Sunday’s Scripture Readings are very interesting and thought provoking to examine ourselves to see if we are using that authority to build our families and communities on Gospel values. One of the principles to use that authority is to learn how to control our minds to the right position and direction. The following story can help us to understand our role as people of authority.

According to the pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world, the Second Vatican Council: “We are warned indeed that a man gains nothing if he wins the whole world at the cost of himself. Yet our hope in a new earth should not weaken, but rather stimulate our concern for developing this earth, for on it there is growing up the body of a new human family, a body even now able to provide some foreshadowing of the new age. Hence, though earthly progress is to be carefully distinguished from the growth of Christ’s Kingdom. Yet in so far as it can help toward the better ordering of human society it is of great importance to the Kingdom of God”.

Are we self centered people or people centered? In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus praises the faithful and trustworthy servant; “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.  Truly I tell you; he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.  But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know.  He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:45-51).

In the Gospel today Jesus places two questions in front of his disciples to see their openness to understanding him. These questions have very deep and sound theology. Why did Jesus ask them these questions? Did he need any human testimony or approval? Wasn’t he aware how people think and feel about him? Didn’t he know the minds and hearts of his disciples? If he did not need any of the above, then why did he ask the questions? We must remember these questions have very strong conclusions.

Let us reflect on the verses before today’s Gospel passage because they will help us to understand why Jesus asked one general and another specific question.  From verse 1-4, the Pharisees and Sadducees were asking Jesus to show them a sign from heaven to prove that he is really from heaven which clearly shows that they did not know Jesus. The verses from 5-12 unveil that Jesus is giving warning to everyone to be careful of the yeast of the Pharisees which means not to be lost in the world. The above mentioned two points will help us to understand the questions Jesus is asking his disciples. 

Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel, “St. Matthew takes us back to a key juncture along Jesus’ journey with his disciples: the moment in which he wants to assess the extent of their faith in him. First, he wants to know what the people think of him; and the people think that Jesus is a prophet, which is true, but they do not grasp the centrality of his Person; they do not understand the centrality of his mission. Then he asks the disciples the question closest to his heart, that is, he asks them directly: “But who do you say that I am?” And with that ‘but’ Jesus firmly separates the Apostles from the multitudes, as if to say: but you, who are with me every day and know me personally, what more have you understood? The Master expects from his own a lofty response different from that of public opinion. And indeed, such an answer gushes forth from the heart of Simon, called Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Simon Peter finds on his lips, words greater than he, words that do not spring from his natural faculties. Perhaps he did not attend elementary school, and yet he is capable of saying these words, stronger than he! But they are inspired by the Heavenly Father, who reveals Jesus’ true identity to the first of the Twelve: he is the Messiah, the Son sent by God to save mankind. And from this answer, Jesus understands that, thanks to the faith given by the Father, there is a solid foundation upon which he can build his community, his Church. Thus, he says to Simon: You, Simon, “you are Peter” — that is, stone, rock — “and on this rock I will build my Church.” 

If we sincerely examine ourselves, I think we will be lost in the first question of Jesus “who do people say the Son of Man is?” I believe we are living in a time, where we listen and follow the worldly understanding of Jesus more and we have kept him out of everything. We need the heart and spirit of St. Peter to make Jesus the centre of our lives. Peter makes his confession of faith in the Gospel when the Lord’s question turns from the general to the specific. At first, Jesus asks: “Who do people say that the Son of man is?”. The results of this “survey” shows that Jesus is widely considered a prophet. Then the Master puts the decisive question to his disciples: “But you, who do you say that I am?”. At this point, Peter alone replies: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. To confess the faith means this: to acknowledge in Jesus the long-awaited Messiah, the living God, the Lord of our lives. Today Jesus puts this crucial question to us, to each of us. It is a decisive question. It does not allow for a non-committal answer, because it brings into play our entire life. The question of life demands a response of life. For it counts little to know the articles of faith if we do not confess Jesus as the Lord of our lives. Today he looks straight at us and asks, “Who am I for you?” As if to say: “Am I still the Lord of your life, the longing of your heart, the reason for your hope, the source of your unfailing trust?” Along with Saint Peter, we too renew today our life choice to be Jesus’ disciples and apostles. 

Jesus does not stop there with those two questions; he adds something more and a surprising element in the lives of his disciples. After the confession of St. Peter, he gives authority to his disciples to build the Church. Jesus’s authority is not based on greed or power but on service because he came to serve and not to be served. Those who confess Jesus know that they are not simply to offer opinions but to offer their very lives. They know that they are not to believe half-heartedly but to “be on fire” with love. They know that they cannot just “tread water” or take the easy way out, but they must take the risk of putting out into the deep, daily renewing their self-offering.  They also follow the Lord along his way, not our own ways. His way is that of new life, of joy and resurrection; it is also the way that passes through the cross and persecution. St. Peter who is given the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, leads us closer to the Lord by his way of living. He is like a story below:

Once there was an old lock shop amidst the narrow streets of city. People would buy locks and keys and sometimes even come to get duplicate keys for their locks.

There was heavy hammer in locksmith’s shop which was sometimes used to break locks.

The hammer often wondered, “What is the quality of these small keys that they can open such strong locks in a jiffy whereas how many blows I had to take to open that same lock.”

One day, after shop was closed, the hammer asked the small key, “How are you able to open even stubborn locks with such ease? Whereas I, being very strong, can’t do this.”

The key replied, “You use force to open the locks, you hit them and by doing so, the lock doesn’t open but breaks. Whereas I do not hurt them, rather I enter their heart and they open immediately.”

Something similar happens in human life. if we really want to win someone over, make them ours, then we must get into that person’s heart.

It is possible to force someone to do something but, in this way, we do not open their locks in mind or heart but breaks it. Doing so we destroy the person, whereas by winning someone’s heart with love, we increase his usefulness manifold. Everything that can be achieved by force can also be achieved by love but everything that can be achieved by love cannot be achieved by force.

St. Paul on the other hand being a persecutor and murder of the believer holds the Pen to proclaim the mystery of Jesus’s love and suffering. He acknowledges his past of being who he was and how grace was given to him by the Lord to be the Apostle of the Gentiles. “Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death.  Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea;  on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked.  And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthains 11:23-28). He was known as Saul but then was given a name which means Little (Paul) because he felt he untimely born and little among the apostles.  His life story is interesting to read and reflect. Acts of Apostles and all of his 13 Epistles show how strong he was to stand for the Lord till the day he was beheaded. St. Paul used his Pen to evangelize the whole world till today. His life shows conversion can happen anytime and Lord can choose us to carry his mission even we are weak or unworthy to do his mission.

A man had a friend who used to misplace and lose his pen very often. He used very cheap pens so that he need not to worry about losing them.

A friend told the man that he was worried about his carelessness habit.

One day, the man suggested he buy the costliest pen, he could afford and see what happens. He did that and purchased a 22 carat gold pen.

After nearly six months the man met him and asked him if he still continues to lose his pen.

The friend smiled and told him that he is very careful with his gold pen and was surprised to see how he was not careless with it anymore.

Then man explained to him that the only difference was the value of the pen. It was nothing wrong with him as person, he was not careless, but it was about value of the pen.

St. Peter looked after his Key and St. Paul held his Pen strong enough to bring us closer to Jesus and reminded us to be faithful to the end he will give us the crown of eternal glory.

 

Are we faithful to God’s calling?

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