Christ is With Us

Homily for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

There is a remarkable contrast between our first two readings today. In the first, St. Peter is miraculously saved from death. In the second, St. Paul contemplates finishing his race and being poured out like a libation. In the first, St. Peter is protected from execution by God’s mighty hand. In the second, St. Paul is preparing to lay down his life for the Gospel he courageously preached. The circumstances and immediate outcome of these two stories are different, but as Saints Peter and Paul were both martyred for the Gospel, today’s solemnity calls us to contemplate God’s glory manifest in both.

In these two passages, God is working mightily for the salvation of the whole world. In both God is present strengthening these apostles he has called to his service. In both, God stands by his beloved servants.

These two apostles continue to preach this great truth to each of us gathered here today. Although our paths may look different, they are teaching us that God is with us, that God will strengthen us and guide us. There may be times when God’s action looks more like St. Peter’s miraculous rescue from prison. There will also surely be times when God’s care looks like the confidence and peace given to St. Paul as he approaches profound suffering. And yet these apostles continue to proclaim that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God who will rescue us and bring us safely to his heavenly kingdom.

Therefore, we, too, are called to respond to Jesus’ question: “But who do you say that I am?” We can answer rooted in the witness of the church, built on the rock of St. Peter’s faith, shared with the world through St. Paul. We know the answer has been passed down by generation upon generation who have come to know Christ’s saving presence just as these two great apostles did. When our faith falters, as St. Peter’s once did, when we are blinded by confusion, as St. Paul once was, we can allow ourselves to be carried by the faithful witness of these two great apostles and the church rooted in their trust, hope, and faith.

“You are the Christ the son of the living God.” This same Christ is present with us today, seeking to draw us more fully into the life he promises through this Blessed sacrament. May our faith be strengthened in the Eucharistic feast, and may St. Peter and St. Paul intercede for us on our journey.