Tuesday, June 24, 2014

The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul - Psalm 34

Psalm 34
In his letter to the Corinthians Paul details the hardships he endured for the sake of the Gospel – beatings, imprisonment, stoning, shipwrecks, dangers – and while Peter doesn’t compile his own litany of suffering we know he was beaten and imprisoned more than once. So Psalm 34 is a fitting Psalm for the feast of these two followers of Jesus who “cried out” and were “delivered from trouble” for their lives were redeemed and we are the living legacy of their faithful witness. That is not to say Peter and Paul always got along and I imagine that Peter might have thought Paul guilty of speaking deceit, especially when Paul accused Peter of hypocrisy! (Galatians 2:11-14) And Paul endured the attacks of James’s people (closely connected to Peter) who accused Paul of all manner of evil teachings and practices. So the righteous are not always right which should make us even more grateful that the Lord listens to those who are all too human – even if they happen to be Peter and Paul.       

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