You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church

Dispute Between St Peter and St Paul, by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi © Galerie G. Sarti, Paris

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 29th June 2021 - Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But you,' he said 'who do you say I am?'

Then Simon Peter spoke up, 'You are the Christ,' he said 'the Son of the living God.'

Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.'

Reflection on the Painting

On today's Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, we remember these two giants of the Christian faith. Both died as martyrs in Rome, in the early 60's. For 30 years they worked relentlessly and joyfully at spreading the Word of God throughout the world. And how successful they were! Each of them was very important, but for very different reasons. Peter was chosen by Jesus in today's reading to build His Church. He was the first Pope and kept the Christian community together during the early days of our Church, which was growing very rapidly. Paul sailed the seas and went out of his way to preach also to the non-Jews, the Gentiles as they were called then. Whenever we see artworks, therefore, Peter is usually portrayed holding a key, symbolising his duty as head of the church, and Paul is holding a Bible, symbolising his preaching, often alongside a sword. The sword holds a two-fold meaning: the sword was used for Paul's beheading, a symbol of martyrdom. Secondly, the sword is also a symbol of the Word of God: see for example Eph. 6:17 ('Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God') and Heb 4:12 ('For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword').

Both men had very different personalities. They often clashed and disputed, as depicted in our painting by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi titled 'The Dispute between St Peter and St Paul'. We can see them steeped in a deep discussion and being very focussed. St Peter is in a more pensive pose, St Paul with a more challenging, confrontational gaze. God used these two very different, unique characters to build His church. Today's solemnity reminds us that God treasures our uniqueness too and wants to use our own talents, personalities and our weaknesses in order help Him build His kingdom.

Let us pray today for the whole Church all over the world. Saint Peter and Saint Paul, pray for us.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/852
Christian Art - www.christian.art