June 29 – Feast of Peter and Paul
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul commemorates the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles St. Peter and Paul of Tarsus, observed on June 29. The celebration is of ancient origin, the date selected being either the anniversary of their martyrdom in 67AD or of the translation of their relics. They had been imprisoned in the famous Mamertine Prison of Rome and both had foreseen their approaching death. Saint Peter was crucified; Saint Paul, a Roman citizen, was slain by the sword. Together they represent two different Christian traditions.
Why do we remember them ? Peter is pictured on the left with the keys – the keys to the kingdom. In Matthew 16, Christ says ” 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.” They keys since then have been symbols of Papal power. Peter represents that part of the Church which gives it stability: its traditions handed down in an unbroken way from the very beginnings, the structures which help to preserve and conserve those traditions, the structure which also gives consistency and unity to the Church, spread as it is through so many races, cultures, traditions, and geographical diversity
Paul is pictured with the Bible. He, on the other hand, represents the prophetic and missionary role in the Church. It is that part of the Church which constantly works on the edge, pushing the boundaries of the Church further out, not only in a geographical sense but also pushing the concerns of the Church into neglected areas of social concern and creatively developing new ways of communicating the Christian message. This is the Church which is constantly renewed, a Church which needs to be constantly renewed
But what does “taking up the cross” mean? This is the first reference to “the cross” in Matthew, and Jesus uses it as a metaphor for the difficult work of embracing an unconventional life of intense, generous commitment to God’s mission — a willingness, as Jesus sums it up, to “lose their life” in order to “find it” (Matthew 10:39). According to this ideal picture, following Jesus means making God’s mission of love and justice the first priority in our lives, even above family and livelihood (Matthew 10:35-37; 10:9-10). It means being willing to confront and conflict with death-dealing powers, so much so that — even as genuine peacemaking remains the ultimate goal — it may well initially appear as though we “have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 5:9; 10:34).
