The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

AM Psalm 66 • Ezekiel 2:1-7 • Acts 11:1-18
PM Psalm 97, 138 • Isaiah 49:1-6 • Galatians 2:1-9

Oh, Peter and Paul. Pillars of the early church, foundational members of our faith, and true martyrs, in every sense of the word, to the end. Turns out, the reason today is their shared feast day (when other days in the year commemorate their conversion and confession respectively) is because of that very martyrdom. “The date is the anniversary of a day around 258, under the Valerian persecution, when what were believed to be the remains of the two apostles were both moved temporarily to prevent them from falling into the hands of the persecutors.” (Learn more here.)

While their early commitment to a life following Christ and ability to share the Gospel is admirable, I find myself worn out reading the descriptions of Paul and Peter’s tribulations. It all feels cloying, laid on a little thick, and it’s not always clear to me to what end. They (the authors of these works) spend a lot of time seeming to justify the “why” behind Peter and Paul’s actions instead of just letting the actions speak for themselves.

Why not instead, as our psalmist says today, “Come and see what God has done…” and leave it at that? If the Holy Spirit is at work, surely that is enough?

I find Ezekiel’s prophetic words beckoning us. “You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear” (Ezk 2:7). Do what you need to do, work while you have the light, worry less about what other people think and how you will be remembered. Trust that if your actions are faithful ones, they will speak for themselves.

Written by Emma Mitchell

When not serving the youth and their families at St. Paul’s, I can be found reading non-fiction, thrifting, and attempting to spend less time on social media.