“All saints are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Today, we celebrate the feast of the two greatest apostles, Peter and Paul. To accord them high ranks among the saints is not just to sound Orwellian or depict the chicanery of democratic socialism and the hypocrisy that proclaims equality while maintaining strict hierarchical structures. We are actually presenting a true hierarchy that depicts the life of heaven. Hierarchy means “sacred order” and is used to describe the system of orders of angels and heavenly beings. In the hierarchical order of created nature, Mary the Mother of Christ stands as queen and the most exalted, followed by St. Michael and the holy angels. Next in rank is St. John the Baptist—proclaimed by the Lord as the greatest of all born of women. St. Joseph will join the rank as the foster father of Jesus. After the intimate family of Jesus, we have the two apostles, Peter and Paul. The Church always celebrates them together as two great pillars of the Christian faith. Whenever the Litany of Saints is sung or said, we not only rejoice in the gift of these ancestors in the Christian faith, we are invited to also reflect on their lives and think of where we fall in this hierarchy. Will you be counted in the roll?
Peter was divinely-blessed in his calling. He was not the first apostle to be called. He was brought to the Lord by his brother, Andrew (the First-called). A poor, impetuous fisherman from Bethsaida in Galilee, Peter must have wondered what the Lord saw in him to warrant his being chosen for the special role of headship. At the sight of him, the Lord immediately knew that he would be the headstone of the new people of God; hence, in John 1:42, He did not hesitate to make an earlier announcement of this role, “You are Simon, the son of Jonas; you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, Peter.” It took a few more years before the Lord made this role explicit, as recorded in the famous dialogue with Simon in Matthew 16, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” His impetuosity nearly derailed him, but the Lord knew whom He had chosen, strengthening him to lead the Church from infancy in Jerusalem to the acquiring of the Christian identity in Antioch, and the firm roots that she took in Rome. The landmark of Peter’s faith is not the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica; it is rather the blood shed at that spot, a decomposed material, which applied to the soil of faith to yield prodigious increase.
Paul, unlike Peter, was not called as one of the twelve apostles, but was chosen as a vessel of Christ, to become an apostle and teacher of the nations. Passionate about his Jewish faith and in rage and fury against believers in Christ, he sought to destroy them. He would learn that any enterprise to destroy the followers of Christ means literally to destroy Christ Himself. How good a bet can one have on that? Paul’s conversion was an epic tale: for while some may give up their wrong ways after they learn the truth, Paul, on the other hand, doubled the zeal, becoming the greatest champion of what he formerly repudiated—gaining the reputation as a contrarian of his former stance. A simple glance at the new testament scripture proves this. Contributing 14 epistles where he made manifest the abundant revelation he received and the loftiness of his own thoughts, he expounded the doctrines of the faith, blew a spiritual trumpet that still reverberates in many hearts redeemed by the love of Christ. Like Peter, he was martyred in Rome with blood streaming as from the temple to water the seeds of faith.
Peter and Paul are together celebrated as cornerstones of the Church, the patrons of Rome, and the key figures of our faith. Together, they give witness to a love so deep that no opposition—not even death—can quench or destroy.
Fr. Chukwudi Jo Okonkwo