Deacon Leah Sandwell-Weiss

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

—Collect for the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Dear friends,

Today we observe the day selected to commemorate the martyrdoms of Saints Peter and Paul. While they have days to recognize them individually, the Confession of Peter on January 18, and the Conversion of Paul on January 25, this date recognizes their ultimate end, martyrdom. The date itself reflects the day when their remains were moved to safety around the year 258.

Tradition says that Paul was decapitated by a swordsman because he was a Roman citizen, while Peter asked to be crucified upside down. But the manner of their death is not as significant as the manner of how they lived their lives.

Consider their differences:  Peter was born and raised on the coast of the Sea of Galilee; an uneducated fisherman, he was called by Jesus early in his ministry. He was the first to confess Jesus as the Messiah, but also denied him three times. We often forget that he was a leader in early Christianity in Jerusalem and Antioch. And traditionally, he eventually went to Rome and was crucified under Emperor Nero in 64 CE.

Paul, originally known by his Hebrew name, Saul, was born outside Judea, in Tarsus; he was a Roman citizen, and his first language was probably Greek. He was educated in Jerusalem, persecuted early Christians there, and then converted on the road to Damascus. He originally started by preaching to Jews, but then expanded his ministry to include Gentiles as well. He made at least three missionary trips throughout the Mediterranean region and beyond. When arrested by Romans, he insisted on his rights as a Roman citizen and eventually wound up in Rome, where he was executed under Emperor Nero sometime in the last years of his reign, 64-68 CE.

Peter and Paul came into conflict at least once, when Peter, who had been eating and associating with Gentiles (see today’s New Testament reading, Acts 11:1-18), stopped associating with them under the influence of other Jews in Antioch. Paul called Peter out: "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?" Gal. 2:11–14. It’s not clear how this conflict was resolved; Paul left Antioch, and no one knows if he and Peter ever met again.

Whatever happened to either of these saints, it’s clear that the Christian faith would be incredibly different without their faith and ministry. I’m reminded of another collect, the one we heard yesterday:

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Deacon Leah Sandwell-Weiss