Solemnity Of Saints Peter And Paul

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. On this great feast day, we are reminded of the two Apostles who played such a critical role in the establishment of the Church. Peter, the Rock upon which the Church is built, who spread the faith to his Jewish brothers. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, lived out Christ’s mandate to proclaim the Gospel to the end of the earth. May our lives imitate their missionary zeal.

Solemnity Of Saints Peter And Paul

Gospel - Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi

he asked his disciples,

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Scriptural Analysis

Peter’s profession of faith marks the climax of the first half of Matthew’s Gospel. It serves as a fulcrum upon which the narrative pivots. Peter gives us the definitive declaration, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In response, Jesus declares that Peter is to be the foundation of his new Church, a new messianic temple.

The disciples had walked with Jesus from the Sea of Galilee to the region of Caesarea Philippi, a distance of about twenty miles. Caesarea Philippi is located near the headwaters of the Jordan River. This region was not Jewish but rather Hellenistic, populated primarily by Gentiles. Caesar Augustus had given the city to Herod the Great, who was responsible for the significant expansion of the Second Temple.

Jesus is now out of earshot of the Jewish crowds and authorities, those who are opposed to him. He can pose the all-important question to his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” There is no consensus concerning the identity of Jesus. Some suggest he is John the Baptist, others claim he is Elijah, and still others argue that he is Jeremiah. While lacking concuss, there is a common thread; they all see him as being in the line of the prophets. Like so many prophets, he preaches repentance, performs mighty works, and shares God’s will for the people of Israel. Even at the start of Holy Week, this belief that he is a prophet continues: “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:11)

Jesus now poses this question to his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Recall earlier when Jesus was in the boat with the disciples and he calmed the storm, their response was to ask, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27) Now Jesus is asking that question back to them. Simon answers the question, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter’s profession of faith stands out amongst all of the opinions regarding the identity of Jesus, but what does it mean to say that he is the Christ? This title means ‘Anointed One.’ In the Old Testament, it gets applied to the priests and the king of Israel, both of whom are installed into their offices via an anointing. Although the term “messiah” is rarely used in the Old Testament, Israel’s messianic hope is clearly evident in the texts and traditions of Scripture.

The hope for a coming messiah stemmed from God’s covenant with David in Second Samuel. God promised to establish the Davidic kingdom for all time, with an everlasting throne and a unique filial relationship with the Lord as an adopted “son.” Historically, this covenant was realized as an unbroken line of nineteen kings from the royal house of David, who ruled in Jerusalem for almost four centuries. However, corruption and idolatry led to the Babylonian conquest of Judah and the collapse of the Davidic kingdom in 586 BC. Despite this, the Lord’s pledge to David was never forgotten, and hope for its fulfillment was kept alive by the prophets, who envisioned a new David, a royal Messiah from David’s descendants. This messianic hope, which flourished in first-century Palestine, has now come to rest on the person of Jesus.

Peter declared Jesus the Messiah and the Son of the living God. In Jewish thought, these titles were closely linked, as anointed kings of David’s line were considered God’s sons. However, Peter didn’t use the expressions synonymously. There was a basis in Israel’s royal ideology for linking the two ideas. Still, Matthew’s Gospel emphasizes that Jesus’ Sonship is unique and transcendent, far beyond what any king of Israel could have imagined.

Peter’s immediate response is, “Blessed are you, Simon.” Jesus accepts Peter’s confession of being the Messiah and God’s Son without hesitation. Peter is blessed because flesh and blood didn’t reveal this insight to him, but the Father revealed it to him as a revelation. Just as Peter declared Jesus the Messiah and Son of the living God, Jesus responds in similar terms, but in reverse order.

Jesus responds to Simon by calling him by his name and noting that he is the son of Jonah. Then Jesus gives him his new name, Peter. The Greek word for Peter, petros, means rock. Jesus then tells him the unique role that he will play as the foundation upon which he will build his Church. Of course, in the English translation, we miss that in the original Greek, Peter would have been petros (the masculine form) and the rock, petra (the feminine form). This more closely illustrates that we are not to distinguish between Peter and the rock but see them as the same. More than likely, these words would have been spoken originally in Aramaic, where the same word, kepha, would have been used. This is why Peter is referred to as Cephas in the New Testament nine times. Jesus also introduces the concept of a Church for the first time. This term originates from the Greek word ekklesia, meaning an assembly.

The question that then arises is, what does Jesus envision this Church looking like? There are several images he uses that convey the idea that he views the Church as a temple of believers. Consider that the expectation for the messiah thought that like the original son of David (Solomon) this new son of David would build the house of God among his people, “and he shall build the temple of the Lord.” (Zechariah 6:12) Thus Peter confessing that Jesus was the Messiah entails that he will build the temple of the Lord.

Jesus makes an additional statement regarding his Church: “The gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” In Israel’s theology, the gates of the netherworld were the opening that led down to Sheol or the Pit. It is here that the souls of the dead sank into a joyless existence. It is also here that the powers of death and deception lived. Rabbinic tradition held that the foundation stone of the temple capped off the shaft leading to Sheol. Peter is now taking that role in the temple that the Messiah is building. The blessing of Jesus on Peter, who is the rock of the temple, ensures that neither the devil nor his evil spirits will be victorious against the Church.

Jesus then entrusts the keys to the kingdom of heaven to Peter. This again harkens back to the Davidic kingdom. For most of the period of the Kings, the possessor of the keys was the chief steward of the kingdom. He was a senior official holding one of the most powerful government positions. The Prophet Isaiah said, “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” (Isaiah 22:22) Peter should be viewed through this lens. He is the chief steward of the kingdom. Peter will be installed as the chief steward of the kingdom, but not as a government official under an earthly head of state. Instead, he’ll be the prime minister of the universal Church under the Davidic Messiah. Since the chief steward in Israel had a line of successors, Peter’s authority is likely intended for successors as well.

Daily Application

Feast days like this are often challenging to see how they apply to our daily lives. The focus of a feast day like this is on a specific event or person, rather than a specific teaching of Jesus or the Church. Nevertheless, there is still much to be learned from observing these feasts.

In Saints Peter and Paul, there are at least two important lessons we can draw from them. First, they are flawed. Saint Peter, right after getting his new name, is called Satan by our Lord. During our Lord’s passion, Peter would deny Christ three times. This is not a man who made his confession of faith and never wavered. This is a deeply flawed man.

Saint Paul, in his former life as Saul, was one of the greatest persecutors of Christians. Saint Stephen the Martyr, the first Christian martyr, died with Saul approvingly looking on. His past was not that of a model Christian.

These two men, though sinners, were used by Christ to build His Church and spread His Gospel. Saint Peter indeed becomes the first Pope, and Saint Paul spreads the Gospel to the Gentile nations. If God can use these two men, he can use us as well. It is a lie of the enemy that tries to convince us that we have nothing to offer God, that he can’t or won’t use us. It is a lie of the enemy that our past is too bad for us to be used to accomplish holy things. Our Lord meets us where we are, offers us an opportunity to heal through repentance, and then equips us for the mission he sends us on.

However, for him to use us, we have to be docile and obedient to his will. That is the second thing we can learn from Saints Peter and Paul. Once they encountered the risen Lord, their hearts changed, they found courage, and they became obedient to Him. They desired to conform their lives to His will. We must do the same thing. To follow God means that His will be done, not ours.

Christ continues to do great things in the world through the cooperation of his flawed servants. While most of us may not be called to be the rock of His Church or bring the Gospel to distant nations, we are all called to spread the Gospel in our daily lives. Every day, God presents us with an opportunity to be His light in this world and to share the Gospel with those we encounter. Are we going to be like Saints Peter and Paul, who, although flawed, said yes to God? That is the question that stands before us as we start each new day.