By Richard Clifford, S.J.

Today, the church celebrates the feast of two legendary saints in the history of Christianity. Orthodox Christians and Protestant Christians would certainly agree because both of these churches or church traditions revere Paul’s letters and draw sustenance from them. St. Peter, “not so much,” because he is identified in the popular mind at least with the Roman Catholic church. The Catholic Church celebrates both these saints on the same day! Can we learn from considering them together?

We will begin with St. Peter, and later bring in St. Paul, to honor the great achievement they made together. Jesus recruited Peter in Galilee. Galilee, where Jesus grew up, was the least Jewish area of the land of Israel. Because of the large number of non-Jews (Gentiles), it was sometimes called “Galilee of the Nations.” Peter is sometimes called “a simple fisherman,” but the reality is that he owned a boat and hired workers, and belonged equivalently to the middle class today. He had to acquire equipment like nets and hooks, be able to navigate a boat in the sometimes dangerous Sea of Galilee, and market his fish. There were risks involved, both maritime and financial. So Peter was very capable; not extremely wealthy, but able to support his wife and family. Jesus chose competent people. The Gospels fill in the sketch: Peter was passionate, spoke frankly, and sometimes promised more than he could deliver. But these qualities are those of a leader, and Jesus chose him to be the leader of the band, as the Gospel of Matthew tells us.

What about St. Paul? His post-conversion life is sketched in the Acts of the Apostles, and his thoughts and beliefs are laid bare in his letters. One of St. Paul’s noble and largely unrecognized virtues was working with St. Peter to lead a church drawn from both its past in Judaism (Peter) and its future among Gentiles (Paul). They occasionally differed publicly and honorably (Galatians 2:11) but managed to work together to build a church that was both traditional and inclusive. Their success should inspire us today.

Richard Clifford, S.J., former President of the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and Founding Dean of the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry