In the Sp. Ex. #104 he writes: Grace to be obtained is to know Christ intimately, so that I may love him ardently, and follow him very closely.
So my actual response (bodily/physical) response to Christ is preceded by my emotional (heart) response which is originated by my personal knowledge (head) of the person of Christ…
Today, as we celebrate the feast of the Saints Peter and Paul, we have two stalwarts before us who have had a very personal knowledge of the person of Christ and as a result, had loved him so ardently and followed him very closely all throughout their lives in all they were and did……
Speaking of Peter, he knew the person of Christ all throughout his life as a disciple…. It is right enough, in the Gospel text of today, Jesus inquires his disciples about their knowledge of him by asking the question, “But, you, who do you say that I am?” In answering Jesus’ question, it was Peter who, in his great proclamation, reveals the identity of Christ, of course through the power of the Holy Spirit, as the Messiah…
It is this knowledge of Christ that made Peter love Jesus fanatically, almost forgetting himself and forgetting what he says and does. We see Peter making a statement not to leave Jesus at his trials, but ends up running away and denying him three times after his arrestation….We see Peter jumping out of the boat upon seeing the risen Lord walking on the water toward him, and then starts doubting and consequently starts drowning in the water… We see Peter fearless to enter the tomb of the risen Christ but was fearfully inside the Upper Room with other disciples until he sees the risen Christ…
It is this Peter that Jesus called, the rock, to whom he gave the keys of the Church, to whom he said, "Take care of my sheep…."
After the resurrection of Christ, we see Peter fearless, proclaiming Christ to the Jews...As a consequence, he receives a death more or less similar to that of Jesus…It is he who is known as the Apostle of the Jews….
Then we have Paul…. When he was still known as Soul, he encountered Christ after his resurrection…He was persecuting and killing those who were known as the People of the Way, the followers of Christ…
It is said that Paul persecuted and Killed Christians not because he didn’t believe in Christ… Rather, it was because he didn’t believe in the historical Christ who was born in a stable of a human woman, lived among us, and was crucified… In his understanding of Christ, he expected a Christ who would come in glory, in clouds, and in honor, and save mankind without being touched by any human limitation, pain, struggle, trial, and death, almost as a magical Messiah… That’s why he could not accept those who believed in the Christ crucified. So he was persecuting those whom he thought were false followers…
It is this Soul, upon knowing the person of Christ, the love and the light of the risen Lord, and after his conversion, started proclaiming the very historical Christ to the far ends of the world…And Consequently, received a death not less painful than that of Peter's... And it is he who is known as the Apostle of the Gentles…
You, see…when we look at these two characters and God’s plan or the economy of salvation in the history of mankind, one thing becomes very clear…. God chose, as St. Paul himself says, what the world considers foolish to shame the wise... God chose what the world considers weak to shame the strong...And it is on them God founded the edifice of the church...
A church made up of weak human beings yet trying to be perfect; A church trying to be more inclusive of those who believe as well as those who do not by accepting the unity even in diversity and diversity in unity; A church challenged by the age and time, yet trying to be faithful to the person of Christ who not only lived and died with us, but also who was the first to be resurrected from the dead.
As we celebrate the feast of these great saints, let’s ask ourselves, how much do we know Christ?
After the examples of these two great stalwarts, St. Peter and Paul, who is Christ to me today, so that I may love him ardently and follow him very closely?
If St. Peter, as weak and faulty as he was, could have done so much, how much more should I be doing for Christ today?
If St. Paul, as irrational and cruel as he was, could have done so much, how much more should I be doing for Christ today?
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