The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the Chief-Apostles, we are reminded there is a place for everyone in the Kingdom of Heaven. Saint Peter denied even knowing Christ, and Saint Paul went around killing Christians. Both were called by God and repented to become great saints of the Church. It won’t matter what we have done or how we have sinned, God will accept us in our repentance. There is always a way back for us.
My brothers and sisters, today is a great feast of our church. We commemorate the great leaders of the apostles, the chief apostles, Peter and Paul. We have just finished our fast, today we feast. But we have to remember who we’re celebrating today, if it is going to have any meaning to us living in the world today. The feasts of the church, my brothers and sisters are not merely history lessons. The feasts of the church are to remind us, first and foremost of God’s love, but also to inspire us into a greater life, into a greater relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so I want to begin with St. Peter, who was referenced by name in the gospel this morning.
Christ is challenging his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Some were calling him John the Baptist, some Elias, some one of the prophets. And he turned to Peter and Peter said, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” Peter knew who Christ was and he confessed him. And Christ in that moment promised, he says, “Peter, on this I will build my church and I will give you the keys to the kingdom.” This same Peter, just a short time later, would deny even knowing Jesus Christ. As we remember, during Holy Week, three times, he refused even knowing the man, let alone confessing him to be the Christ as he did in this morning’s gospel.
And how many times do we find ourselves in that same place? We go about our life. We may not speak against God, but in our life and in our actions, and in our words, in practical terms, we deny even knowing him, because we do not live as if we know him. We go about our life, as we say, minding our own business, but we do not confess him, because we’re weak. Just as Peter was weak during Holy Week, he didn’t want to have the extra burden, we are also weak. We go through life and sometimes, maybe even many times, it is easier for us simply to keep our mouths shut and not to confess God. To pretend we don’t know him, sometimes it is easier, so we think in the moment. And this morning, his gospel reminds us that, even in our weak moments, there’s always a way back.
Because St. Peter, one of the leaders of the Apostles, one of the chief Apostles, if he can be a chief Apostle, if Christ will give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and he denied even knowing him and then repented, that means there’s space for us too in heaven. That means, no matter how sinful we find ourselves in the moment, no matter how far away from God we find ourselves in the moment, with God, there’s always a way back. And I want to remind you how the way back was for St. Peter. After Peter denied knowing him three times, after the resurrection, Christ gave Peter a chance to confess him, three times, to repent for each of the sins. There’s always a way back, my brothers and sisters.
And now we have St. Paul, St. Paul, who was a ruthless killer of Christians. The Christians were terrified of him. And yet Christ says, “Paul, I need you. I’m going to send you to the Gentiles.” And not only did Paul repent of his killing, he became one of the greatest evangelists, one of the greatest messengers of the hope and salvation of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You see, my brothers and sisters, if Saints peter and Paul, in their sin, can become leaders of the church. You and I have a place. That’s what I want you to take from this morning’s celebration. Not just a history lesson, but an invitation and an inspiration for us to turn our lives back and to allow ourselves to become the tools of Christ, messengers of His gospel, confessors to the truth.
Then we will be blessed, not just with a throne in heaven, but we’ll be blessed by God’s love. And I’m here to tell you, we can’t go wrong with God’s love. Don’t look down on yourselves today. There’s always a way back. Every sin has a way of repentance, and today is the first day of our new journey. And let us follow in the example of Saints, Peter and Paul, those great leaders of the church, and rededicate our lives to confessing him and to proclaiming his good news and a message of hope and forgiveness and reconciliation to the Lord. Glory to God for all things.
