“I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,

and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have competed well; I have finished the race;

I have kept the faith.

From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,

which the Lord, the just judge,

will award to me on that day, and not only to me,

but to all who have longed for his appearance.

The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,

so that through me the proclamation might be completed

and all the Gentiles might hear it.”

“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’

Simon Peter said in reply,

‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

Jesus said to him in reply, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

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.’”

As we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, it is an interesting development that these two apostles and martyrs share the same feast day. Representing such divergent missions and characteristics, they were both killed in Rome during the persecutions of Nero, but most likely on different days, and maybe in different years. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, are symbolic of the confession of the faith and authority of the church on the part of

Peter, and, on the part of Paul, the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Spirit. If Peter is the foundation upon which Jesus builds his Church, Paul is the evangelistic zeal that propels the church out to engage the world. One is the image of a strong foundation and fortress of truth, while the other is freedom and outward mission in the Spirit. As is so often the case for the church, it is not either Peter or Paul, but both Peter and Paul.

Even to this day, these two symbols, impulses of the church if you will, remain in dynamic tension. There is always the impetus to safeguard the truth and build upon what has come before. At the same time, there is an openness to the changing times

and a desire to engage and accompany the world as it progresses forward with the proclamation of the gospel. This tension is not easily resolved and deserves to be held as sacred. It is a creative tension in the church, in our local community, and in each of our hearts and lives. One direction or the other is not sufficient. It is not either/or. It is both/and with all the discomfort that might bring. We need to hold it, pondering it in our hearts as Mary did, and discerning God’s will in each of our concrete situations. If not, it is enough to tear us all apart.

The great mystery, as highlighted by this singular feast, is that we find unity in Jesus Christ. Saints Peter and Paul found unity in Jesus and following him to a martyr’s death. We find unity, as well, in Jesus and laying down our own lives for the good of

the other. As different as these two, and all of us, may seem, we find communion in Jesus.