Go,
for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before
Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel
- One of the things we have today is a study in likenesses and differences. Both the conversion of Paul and the reconciliation of Peter are focused on in the readings today.
- I'm not telling you anything you don't already know to say that both Peter and Paul are quite important in the history of the Christian Church.
- Peter was the chief of the disciples. In answer to Jesus' question “Who do you say that I am?”, Peter responds “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Protestants say it is Peter's confession that is the “rock” on which Christ builds his Church; Catholics say it is the person of Peter. Either one you hold to, Peter is heavily involved.
- Paul originally was a blood-thirsty persecutor of the Church, who was knocked down, blinded, and throughly changed when he encountered the resurrected and ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus. Once he had digested what happened to him and learned more about The Way, he became the leading missionary of the time and a writer of letters to the Churches that are still read today.
- Both had to learn and both had their problems. Both Peter and Paul did not begin as great examples of the Christian life. Peter attacked a man with a sword when Jesus was arrested and then denied his friend and master three times. Paul approved of the stoning of Stephen, persecuted the Church, and had warrants to arrest Christians when he found them.
- Still, each of these men have a special place in the history of the Church and in the story of the spread of the Gospel. Both knew their own weaknesses and still went on with the mission they had received. They might have felt inadequate at times, discouraged in the face of opposition and of betrayal. And – no “but” - they continued.
- There will be times when we will be discouraged and inadequate to what we are called to. It's normal and often found. There will also be time when we will fail at what we are called to. That is guaranteed, because we are only human. What counts most at times like that is not the failure but the recovery.
- We know Peter denied Jesus, saying he did not know the man in the night of the trial. Today's Gospel reading has a three-part conversation between Peter and Jesus. Jesus asks Peter: "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" and after Peter replies, Jesus gives him a renewed mission, saying "Feed my lambs.",,, "Tend my sheep."..."Feed my sheep.”... In this exchange, Peter is not only forgiven his denial, but he is commissioned to have a special place in the life of all those who have and who will follow Jesus.
- We also know that Paul persecuted the followers of Jesus, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord as Luke puts it. Yet, Jesus had a special place for Paul and a special mission, to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel. Although it is not said in so many words, Paul is forgiven and is commissioned for his special and wide-ranging mission.
- We might wonder if Peter and Paul felt odd or guilty about their past and if they felt unworthy of the forgiveness they had received. I'd believe that they felt unworthy, and that they still accepted the forgiveness offered them as well as the missions they were given. We all know that the missions they received were no easier and we know as well how their missions ended; Both Peter and Paul were executed in the persecution of Nero around 64AD.
- So where does this leave us? Any of us might say we are not in the same league as Peter or Paul. Any of us might say we do not have a mission like Peter or Paul. Any of us might compare our selves to them and say “Why try?”
- It might be true enough that we are not apostles like Peter or Paul. It might be true enough that our individual and common missions are not as extensive as either of those men's missions. We might not measure up to them in our own minds.
- Still, we have all been commissioned at Baptism to share in the work and ministry of our Lord. And we know we often fall short and fail to give witness in word or deed to our faith in our Saviour. Yet Jesus doesn’t just commission us, Jesus also forgives us when we fall short. And Jesus doesn’t just forgive us, but calls us to try again. And Jesus doesn’t just call us to try again, Jesus also invites us to share what we have and gives us meaningful work to do. What that work would be is not ours to say and sometimes not ours to understand. It's just that is is ours to do.
- The old hymn says:
If
you cannot preach like Peter,
If
you cannot pray like Paul,
Just
tell the love of Jesus,
And
say He died for all.
- We all do what we can, over and over. It is the grace of God we find in our fidelity to our mission that makes the difference. Fidelity is not easy, mainly because we see and make a lot of our own faults and failings. Peter and Paul may have done the exact same thing; the difference is they looked faults and failings to their Lord and his grace and would see beyond their own failures and faults to what grace would permit them to do and call them to do. That in itself is an example of grace.
- When it comes to the grace of God and the love of God, each of us is the equal of Peter and Paul, for we are all loved as they are.
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