Reflection: what do you want from me today, Lord?

Mar 6, 2026 | Homily

SOLEMNITY OF PETER AND PAUL: THE PILLARS OF THE CHURCH

Jun 30, 2025 | Homily

By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, C.S.Sp. | (Acts 12:1-11; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8.17-18; Matthew 16: 13-19)

Dear friends in Christ,

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. These were the two great apostles who guided the early Church just after the time of Jesus. While Peter was one of the twelve who were with Jesus, Paul came after Jesus had ascended into heaven. Yet, we call him an apostle to the Gentiles because he is the one who consecrated his life to preaching to the non-Jews, bringing the message of salvation to them. 

There are so many similarities between these two apostles. Both were converted in the process of doing something. While Peter met Jesus while doing his work as a fisherman (Luke 5:1-11), Paul was caught on his way to Damascus to arrest and imprison the followers of Jesus (Acts 9:1-19). Despite the mistakes they made in their lifetime, what unites them is their radical surrender to God. They allowed themselves to be shaped by grace, by the Holy Spirit. Peter became a shepherd, willing to give his life for the flock. Paul became a missionary, tireless in his travels, prisons, and letters, all for the sake of Christ. Their lives teach us that believing does not mean being flawless. Believing is daring to trust, even after your mistakes. It is daring to entrust yourself to God again and again, time and time again. Later, both men died as martyrs for the faith in Rome, during the persecutions of Emperor Nero in the early 60s, just thirty years after the death of Jesus.

Both Peter and Paul did a lot to keep the unity of the Church. During the early years of the Church, it was the Jews who accepted the faith and formed the early Church. The Bible records that during the persecution that followed the death of Stephen, the believers who fled Jerusalem preached to their fellow Jews in the towns and villages where they ran to (Acts. 11:19). As time went on, with the conversion of Paul, the Gentile world began to accept the Gospel message so much that the number of Gentile converts outnumbered the Jewish believers.  It was Paul who championed seamless inclusion of the Gentile believers. This is vital for us who live in a time when division sometimes seems stronger than unity, even within our Church. Peter and Paul show us a different picture. They had differing approaches to ministry, particularly regarding the inclusion of Gentiles in the early church (Galatians 2:11-14). But they remained united in their faithfulness to Jesus. They knew that their difference did not have to be the end of the community. Their unity was rooted in the one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And that is a powerful testimony for our time. Our Church must acknowledge diversity, but must always seek a new path to reconciliation and unity.

Both Peter and Paul had it very tough and rough, yet they were determined to push through all their difficulties. The first reading recounts the arrestation of Peter by Herod with intent on killing him to please the Jews. Meanwhile, the church prayed intensively for him, and God heeded their prayer. A night to the day that Herod had planned to publicly kill Peter, God sent his Angel to miraculously free him. The chains holding him captive fell off, the guards never knew what was happening, and even the gate of the prison opened on its own to let Peter out of prison. That experience speaks volume about God’s deliverance, prayer, trust in God’s unfailing love and care for his own. Peter had watched Jesus arrested, falsely accused, crucified, died and rose from the dead. He knew that life goes beyond the grave. That experience enabled him to grow beyond the old version of him that denied Jesus out of fear during his trial. 

Paul, on his part, described the Christian life as a fight to discipline the self, overcoming temptations from the world and triumphing over the devil. Such battle requires us to put on all the amors of God (Ephesians 6:13-18), and to be spiritually alert. His difficult experiences of betrayal, persecution, imprisonment, shipwreck and bodily torture are described in his letters. In his second letter to Timothy which forms our second reading, Paul, having spoken of the Christian life as a fight and race, reassured himself of the crown of glory that awaits him and all who looks forward to the appearing of the Lord. 

The examples of Peter and Paul is a wakeup call for us to reexamine our commitment to God. There is so much we can learn from them. The story of the transfiguration recounted in the Gospel indicates that the Father is the one who has chosen us in Christ to be his people. Just as Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my heavenly Father”, it is the heavenly Father that reveals Jesus to us, and require of us to commit to this beautiful life of God. Jesus himself said in John 6:45, “Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.” 

Indeed Christian living often emphasize following the narrow path, making the least popular choices, and  carrying the cross, fighting (wrestling) against the flesh and its cravings, running from sin and moving towards God; but it is more of living a life of deep connection with the Holy Spirit. When we are connected with God in the very depth of our being, his light shines through us, changing our perception of life, the world, and people, and we go beyond living out our Christian call only when it is convenient. 

Let us always remember that God does not call the perfect, but perfect those he has called. This is important because human weaknesses has a way of hindering us from responding to the call to bear witness to Christ. It is evident in the lives of Peter and Paul that they were not the most qualified for the post to which God called them. Peter was not well educated, an erratic fisherman whose weaknesses showed up here and there, and Paul started off on a wrong footing. Yet, Jesus said to Peter, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.” As Paul would acknowledge in 1 Corinthians 15:9, “For I am the least of the apostles, and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God”. What God wants of us is to trust in his strength, and daily seek to faithfully live in the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Remember the words of Paul in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.  

As we celebrate the Solemnity of these two great apostles today, let us ask God to renew our  eagerness to serve him truly despite whatever challenges that may come our way. May His grace always keep us positive about His saving plans in our lives.  Amen.