Solemnity of Sts.Peter and Paul, Tuesday – 29th June 2021 — Gospel: Mt 16,13-19
Carved out for Foundation
Today we reflect on the lives of two super-heroes, Peter and Paul, who became the foundation of the living Church. These two individuals were far from perfect when they were first called to be active parts of the edification – i.e., in building the Church. They needed to be formed into the shape which God could use to edify the rest of the Church. From the scriptures we come to know that these two men were quite flawed in their lives. Yet Jesus chose such individuals to be the key building blocks in the structure of His Church. Jesus selected a rough fisherman who often acted without thinking matters through, in order to show that God can use even coarse stones to make a beautiful structure. Jesus, the Rock of salvation, chose a man named Simon bar Jonah, and christened him as Cephas, meaning “the rock”. In the same way, Jesus chose the ultra-conservative and traditional Jewish Pharisee and tent-maker to announce the message of salvation to non-Jews. Both Peter and Paul had gone through a lengthy process in order to grow in their understanding of, and their relationship with, the God who had called them In order to be the foundation of the living Church. Truly God prefers the rough rocks so that God can chip away and shape them to have a firm foundation for His edifice – the Body of Christ.
