Church is a unity in diversity
Solemnity of SS. Peter & Paul
This year, the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul falls on this Sunday. This offers an opportunity to reflect on the theme of unity in the church.
Simon and Saul – their diverse backgrounds
Simon and Saul – these two great men, came from very different backgrounds.
Simon was a fisherman from Galilee. Many people naively think that he was a ‘poor’ fisherman. Uneducated? Perhaps he was! Poor in material sense? Not at all! Peter was not a poor fisherman. I come from a village of fishermen, and I know that, if a fisherman had a fishing vessel, nets, and hired servants he was not a poor fisher man. The synoptic Gospels are very clear in their description (Mk 1:16-20; Mt 4:18-22; Lk 5:1-11). Simon and his brother Andrew were partners with John, James and their father Zebedee. They ran a fishing industry – they were entrepreneurs, providing jobs for the people of their village. Simon’s house in Bethsaida was large enough to receive Jesus, his apostles and some of the multitude that thronged about Jesus (Mk 1:29-2:2). Coming from such a background we see Simon, very confident of himself, very loudmouthed, and a born leader. But his exaggerated self confidence could turn out to be arrogance at times, and his vociferous nature could make him appear presumptuous and impetuous.
Saul, on the other hand, was a well bred gentleman from Tarsus. He was a Hebrew by birth, a Roman citizen, and educated in Greek (being from Tarsus). So he had the benefit of the three cultures that interacted in the Mediterranean world those days. He had all reasons to be proud of himself – and proud, he was. Even in his later epistles his pride comes out very strong. Having been instructed in the Hebrew religion, under Gamaliel in Jerusalem, he was sure of his faith in his Jewish religion. He claims himself to be a Pharisee (Phil 3:5). Confident he was in his Jewish traditions, to the point of putting the followers of the Way to death. At least until he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus.
The two great apostles came from diverse backgrounds. But at one point their diversities converge: the experience of God in Jesus. What can bring us together today is the same experience that brought Simon and Saul together.
Peter & Paul – their unifying experience of God in Jesus
Simon encounters Jesus at the shore of Galilee. Lk 5:1-11 very powerfully describes that conversion experience of Simon. That encounter with Jesus invites him to follow Him. And he is called, Peter, Cephas – the rock! However, his own experience of the love of God made visible in Jesus was a slow process, even until after the Resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel passage that we heard read today (Mt 16:13-19) was one milestone – an important one – in that journey of Simon becoming Peter. Helped by the Holy Spirit, Peter is open to experience God in the person of Jesus – Jesus as the Christ, Son of the living God. It is this experience that would give him the authority as a leader. Eventually Peter would become the undisputed leader among the apostles – and the Vicar of Christ. And Rome would become the seat of that unity.
Saul encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus. We have the conversion experience of Saul described in every detail in the Acts of the Apostles at least in three sections (Acts 9:1-31, 22:1-22, 26:9-24). The proud Saul surrenders himself to that overwhelming presence of God in the person of Jesus. Saul becomes Paul. Paul means short (perhaps because of his stature) but it also means, small and humble. Yes, his encounter with Jesus leaves him humble. The word ‘boast’ occurs 19 times in the NT, and always only in the letters of St. Paul. He would say, “He who wants to boast let him boast in the Lord” (1Cor 1:31); and, “If I have to boast, I would rather boast of my weaknesses” (2Cor 11:30). Paul converts his pride into a boast in the Lord. Paul then becomes an apostle of the Gentiles. Finally, would go to Rome to be executed, becoming together with Peter, the apostles of Rome.
So my dear friends, what brings us together? What unites us in our diversity? It is not merely Latin, or a code of Law, not even the common Creed. But it is our desire to experience God in the person of Jesus. The primary function of the Church – through its Word, its liturgical celebrations, its ministers – is to mediate this experience for each one of us. I remain a Catholic because it is in the context of this church, that I have had my encounters of God in the person of Jesus.
So then on this day we pray for the Church, we pray for its leaders, we pray for ourselves. That we will be united in our diversity. We can indeed celebrate our differences because of our confidence in the unity of the experience of God in the person of Jesus.