Ordinary Men Living Extraordinarily Well

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the Patron Saints of the Universal Church, the City of Rome, and the Diocese of Providence. All great cause for celebration (especially if you are Rhode Islander)!

Sometimes the Saints and their remarkable legacy seems foreign to us, but Peter and Paul really should not. As I heard in the Homily at Mass this morning: “they were ordinary men, who lived their lives extraordinarily well.”

Peter was an impulsive, and simple fisherman. He likely wasn’t highly educated, but was very skilled in his trade. His frequent impulsive responses often led (I imagine) to a chuckle from Jesus, who knew full well that in the end Peter would lay down his life for the Church. Paul was a high ranking member of Jewish Society, a Roman Citizen, and likely very well educated. He persecuted the Church with ferocity, until his conversion on the road to Damascus. He would then be a bold evangelist of the Gospel, which like Peter, would cost him his life.

The Tomb of Saint Peter

As I sat at Mass this morning my mind went back to my trip to Rome in December, where I had the opportunity to pray at the graves of these great Saints- and visit the magnificent Basilicas that today stand over those graves in their honor. I remember commenting to friends I was traveling with as we stood on day outside Saint Peters: for as magnificent as this Church is, Peter would be embarrassed that such a building is named for him these 2,000 years later.

Statue of Saint Peter

Peter was always very well aware of his own sinfulness, as was Paul. Neither man thought of themselves as the pillars of the Church that we revere them as today. They were sinful, ordinary men, who by God’s good grace changed their lives and handed their lives over to the Risen Jesus. They could not have imagined what the future would hold, or that the world would be forever changed by their evangelization.

If you’re anything like me, the story of Saints Peter and Paul should bring you great hope!

When I look back over the course of my life: and the many sins, wrong choices, and re-directions that have occurred, my mind goes a thousand different places. I am far from perfect, and most certainly would not consider myself the pillar of anything. I do hope and pray though, that despite my sinfulness I can bring the healing love of Jesus to a few broken hearts before I see him face to face.

What occurred inside of Peter and Paul that changed them so deeply?

The Tomb of Saint Paul

Peter must have been so tired of the oppression that Rome held over him. He went out each day to fish, and make money to support his family. As he hauled the fish in from the boats each morning, he had to stop and pay a tax on those fish – fish he hadn’t even sold yet. He had to suffer the realities of days when the catch was just not a good one! He had to manage stormy seas, and the same financial woes of any of us today. Somehow that frustration and anger turned to hope and joy in Christ. Perhaps Jesus’ miraculous intervention that yielded them that great catch made Peter recognize something in Jesus: he cared about him. He understood him in a way that other preachers and teachers didn’t. Perhaps he admired Jesus when he saw that with a word Jesus could storm the seas that so often fought back against him and his work.

Saint Paul Outside the Walls

What anger stirred in the heart of Paul that drove him to hate Christians so much prior to his conversion? Did he think that the Jewish world he knew so well was being threatened, when in fact it was being fulfilled? Was he scared…perhaps even terrified? Wasn’t his persecution against the Christians rooted in his desire to defend his own faith, more than in a dislike for Christianity? In his experience on the road to Damascus Paul discovered that behind this newly born faith tradition was a living and eternal person. He experienced the love of that person – that person who is God – and he discovered the intimate and personal love of that God…despite even his worst sin…despite the fact that a week earlier people were stoning Stephen and laying their cloaks at Paul’s feet.

So what is the lesson for us? I would say there is a few…

Do we forgive the way God forgives us – the way he forgave Peter and Paul?

Do we believe that our anger and fear can be changed, like Paul’s?

Do we believe that Jesus can show us the way out of oppression, like he did for Peter?

Have we yet come to fully believe – like they both did – that the things of this world are passing away and our investment is best made in the life that is to come…the life that never ends?

Perhaps most importantly: do we believe that us ordinary folks, can (by God’s grace) live our lives extraordinarily well, and in doing so bring the healing love of Jesus to those who seek it?

Saint Peter and Saint Paul: pray for us!