Peter and Paul were both apostles and saints, but they were by no means perfect! As we hear in today’s Gospel Jesus gives Simon the name Cephas or Rock (Peter) after he confesses, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God.” Peter received this insight as a special revelation from God: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” In the very next passage, however, Jesus calls him not Rock but Satan: “Get behind me, Satan. You are an obstacle to me.” Peter had confessed and rightly so that Jesus is the Messiah who teaches and heals with authority. When Jesus goes on to teach that he is to be a suffering and crucified Messiah Peter turns on Jesus: “Peter…began to rebuke him.” Peter, despite God’s revelation, still needs to come to a deeper understanding of Jesus and of God’s will and way. Jesus rebukes Peter: “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Like Peter, Paul also had to grow in his understanding of God’s will and way. Like Peter, Paul found it hard to accept a crucified Messiah. Paul, before his conversion, persecuted his fellow Jews who were proclaiming a crucified Messiah. Like Peter, Paul at first saw this as a scandal and folly. After his call or conversion Paul reflects on his prior view of Jesus:
“For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-25).
A saint, like Peter and Paul, does not have to be perfect. A saint needs to be humble and to never think that they have God completely figured out. Like Peter and Paul, you and I are also challenged to allow God to surprise us and even shock us. We are called to think not as human beings think but as God thinks. Jesus shows us the way.
Image: “Saint Peter and Saint Paul” by Lawrence OP is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.