The Saintly ‘Odd Couple’
“I was one way, and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between… was him.” (Mary Magdalene in film series The Chosen)
Today we celebrate Saints Peter and Paul – recognized as the two ‘pillars’ who hold up the doorway of the Church. Both are patron saints of Rome, where they were martyred under the emperor Nero between 64 and 67 AD. Their apostolic role in the formation and establishment of the Church cannot be overestimated, and while their backgrounds significantly differ, they share the common experience of ‘radical transformation’.
Consider Simon (Peter) to whom the Father revealed Jesus as the Christ, Son of the Living God. Simon’s transformation was so radical that he was renamed. This common, uneducated fisherman from Galilee was then given the preeminent place and office of leadership and governance of the Church. On Pentecost, Peter was further transformed by the outpouring of Holy Spirit, as he powerfully proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Messiah, converting thousands.
On the other hand we have Saul of Tarsus, also known as Paul. In writing to the Philippians he described himself as, “Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee…in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.” In his zealous persecution of the Way (Christians) he was struck down and temporarily blinded in a dramatic encounter with Jesus who asked, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Arrested by grace, Paul went on to become Apostle to the Gentiles, ceaselessly preaching and establishing churches throughout the Mediterranean world.
Saints Peter and Paul could be called ‘Apostles of Transformation’. They were first personally transformed, and then they transformed the world, from “Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth”. Clearly, both Peter and Paul were “one way” and after encountering Jesus “were completely different” – as was the world which they greatly changed!
Today, as we look back over the millennia, we marvel at these two saints. Who could have imagined the immeasurable, eternal fruit that has been born from their lives? Even to this day, they are ‘pillars’ who hold up the doorway to the Church through their legacy, their doctrine and intercession from heaven. They inspire us to examine our own lives – to thank God for his transforming grace in us, and ponder the impact our lives have made and can continue to make in transforming our world.
God bless,
+ Deacon Dave