Saints Peter and Paul

“I have competed well; I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18

This Sunday the Church celebrates the two greatest leaders of the early Church; Peter and Paul. What I find remarkable about their lives is first that they were flawed men who were still called by Christ to proclaim the Gospel. Too often we get held back from serving the Church because we do not believe we are worthy enough. We know our own sins and failures so we hang back and leave it for others. Peter and Paul were not that much unlike all of us in this regard but were confident that Jesus would use all of their strengths and flaws for the growth of the kingdom.

The second aspect of their lives which should be a lesson for all of us is that if you proclaim the Gospel, you will be opposed. For Peter and Paul this included periods in jail, being stoned and left for dead, and ultimately giving their lives because of this faithfulness to proclaiming Christ is King. While hopefully none of us will be martyred for the faith, we do need to be accept the difficulties that being a follower of Christ and continue to share beauty of the faith with all meet so that we can say like Paul at the end of our lives, “I have completed well; I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Viva Cristo Rey!