Psalm 34, our responsorial for today, is an acrostic psalm. Each successive verse begins with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, beginning with the letter “aleph” and ending with the letter “Taw” or “Tau.” Because of its alphabetic structure, this psalm is really a list of aphorisms or wisdom statements that are featured throughout the Wisdom Literature of the Hebrew Scriptures. However, today’s readings lead us into the mystery of the Church, a mystery that is demonstrated in the lives of the two great apostles that we celebrate today. This psalm is used because of the reference to an angel in verse seven.
The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles recounts an episode in the life of St. Peter during the reign of King Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great, the king who ordered the murder of the Holy Innocents shortly after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. His father was executed when he was still a boy so his mother packed him off to Rome where he lived until he was installed as king by Caesar. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he seems to have inherited the murderous ways of his grandfather.
As Luke tells this story, it is striking that Peter is really a passive participant in his rescue and escape from prison. He was arrested by Herod on the Feast of the Passover. This is why he is thrown into prison since it was unlawful to execute anyone on that important Jewish feast. The Christians gathered in fervent prayer and asked God to rescue Peter. An angel secures his release and walks with Peter past the sixteen guards which Herod had set over him. His shackles fell from his hands and feet, and even the iron gate of the prison opened of its own accord as Peter and the angel passed through it. Throughout the entire episode, Peter was in a trance.
The second reading, though short on detail, also reveals that Paul was rescued from his persecutors as if from a lion’s mouth. Surrounded by evil threats, Paul eventually makes his way to Rome where both he and Peter are martyred during the persecution of Nero.
However, before their deaths, these two spread the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile alike. Their deaths in Rome symbolize the fact that these two apostles brought together these two disparate populations into one Church. Early in the Christian history of Rome, both apostles were celebrated equally. Two great basilicas were built in honor of each of them. Only subsequently did Rome become identified more with Peter than with Paul. However, even today, June 29 is regarded as a civil holiday in Rome with all businesses taking off to celebrate these great apostles.
Together these apostles leave behind a legacy that is rich in symbolism and in theological reflection. Neither of them seems to be the logical choice for leadership in the Church, Peter having denied knowing Jesus on the night before his crucifixion and Paul being responsible for the early persecution of the men and women who placed their faith in Jesus. This is, perhaps, one of the things that we can take away from this celebration. God chooses two unlikely characters to further the Gospel. It is clear that it is God acting through them rather than anything they might have done on their own. God released them from their persecutors in the early part of their lives. God put well trained tongues to good use in proclaiming the Gospel, and, finally, God brought these two men to Rome where they followed in the footsteps of Jesus in giving their lives for the faith. God chooses the weak and makes them strong to accomplish God’s will through their lives.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M.