Sts Peter and Paul 

Peter and Paul were two very different people who on at least one important issue in the early church were seriously at odds with one another. Peter wanted pagans who entered the church to submit to the Jewish Law, whereas Paul insisted that this was an unnecessary imposition on them.

Peter Vs Paul
Peter was a fisherman from Galilee, a predominately rural area.
Paul was from the university city of Tarsus, in the south of modern day Turkey.
Peter was an Aramaic speaking Jew;
Paul was a Greek speaking Jew.
Peter probably just had the very basic education of his time and place;
Paul was clearly a very well educated and literate person.
Peter, of course, knew Jesus personally and was with him throughout his public ministry.
Paul only ever encountered the risen Lord.
Peter’s mission was primarily to preach the gospel to the Jews.
Paul’s mission was to preach the gospel primarily to pagans.

According to Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, he met Peter for the first time in the city of Jerusalem, some three years after the risen Lord appeared to Paul,
‘after three years, I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days’. No doubt, on that occasion, Peter had an opportunity to share with Paul his own experiences of Jesus during his public ministry. In spite of their many differences, they were both equally dedicated to serving the Lord.

In the first reading for today, Peter was imprisoned for his work of preaching the gospel.
In the second reading Paul speaks as one who is already ‘being poured away as a libation’, a drink offering in the Temple. They were each put to death because of their faith in Christ during the persecution of the church in Rome ordered by Nero, who it is said, blamed the Christians of Rome for the great fire in the city.

The Lord worked very differently but very powerfully through each of them. The Lord wishes to work through each of us and will do so in a way that is unique to each of us. The Lord needs diversity, not uniformity. Yet, he needs us to work in harmony, like the different parts of one body. Sometimes our diversity can cause tension, as sometimes happened between Peter and Paul, but such tension can be healthy and can ultimately serve the Lord’s purposes. Our tensions can be resolved if, like Peter and Paul, we keep our eyes fixed on the risen Lord whose servants we are.

Fr Martin Hogan