Sermon 381

SERMO 381

On the Birthdays of the Apostles Peter and Paul

A great sign of concord that they are both celebrated on one day. In the apostle Peter, the weak things of the world were chosen. Paul, having become a witness of Christ, teaches the mercy of God.

The day of the apostles Peter and Paul, on which they deserved the triumphal crown after defeating the devil, as the Roman faith testifies, is today. For them, a solemn festival is celebrated, and a solemn sermon should also be given. Let them hear praises from us, let them pour out prayers for us. According to the tradition of the fathers, it is remembered that they were not martyred on the same day during the passage of time. Therefore, Paul suffered on Peter's birthday, not the day he was born from his mother's womb into the number of men, but the day he was born from the bond of flesh into the light of Angels; and thus single days were given to both, so that now one is celebrated for both. This seems to me to be a great sign of harmony: the last called to the same day as his co-apostle, crowned on the same day he was called. He was chosen before the Lord's passion, the other after His ascension. Unequal in the order of time, equal in the eternity of happiness: one from a fisherman, the other from a persecutor. In the former, the weak things of the world were chosen to confound the strong; in the latter, sin abounded so that grace might abound. In both, the great grace and glory of God have manifested, who made their merits, not found them. For what else did He aim to demonstrate, who first wished to call fishermen to the kingdom and was later to call emperors, except that he who glories may glory in the Lord? For indeed, He did not despise the salvation of the noble, learned, and powerful, but placed the lowly, unlearned, and weak above them. But unless the lowliness of the weak had first been chosen, the pride of the lofty would not be healed. If the rich had first been called by Christ, they would think and say that nothing but wealth, eloquent doctrine, the splendor of knowledge, nobility, and royal power was chosen. And thus, swollen with temporal and secular felicities, they would think they were first contributing these things to Christ, so that He would seem to return to them what they would become by God's grace, neither understanding nor holding it tightly. How much better, how much more orderly is it then that He first raises the poor from the earth and lifts the needy from the dungheap to set them with the powerful of His people; so that the gift of understanding and doctrine is not only from God but also appears to be from God? How great then is the joy and glory of God when we see the scorn of the wealth of an emperor by the soul of a fisherman? The prayers of the emperor are poured out at the memory of the fisherman? so that the former is not cast down by what he did not have, nor the latter puffed up by what he had? And what Christ worked in Paul, making him from a persecutor into a preacher, how much this may contribute to human salvation, let the Apostle himself speak that no one conscious of great sins may despair of God's mercy. Human speech, he says, is worthy of full acceptance, because Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, among whom I am the first. But for this reason, I received mercy, that in me first Christ Jesus might show all long-suffering, as a pattern for those who are going to believe in Him for eternal life. Who, then, being inspired by such a great example, could despair of salvation under the hand of the Almighty Physician, considering that he who once ravaged the faith he now preaches, not only escaped the punishment of the persecutor but also deserved the crown of the teacher, and whose blood he sought in his members to shed in his rage, he poured out his own blood in faith for His name? Therefore, Rome has the head of the nations, two lights of the nations kindled by Him who illuminates every man coming into this world: one, in which God elevated humble weakness; the other, in which He healed condemnable sin. In the one, let us learn not to boast; in the other, not to despair. How briefly the great examples set before us teach, how beneficial they are; which we should always remember, and in their praise magnify the true light. Therefore, let no one exalt himself in the lofty status of this world: Peter was a fisherman. Let no one flee from God's mercy by thinking of their own sinfulness: Paul was a persecutor. The former says: The Lord became a refuge for the poor; the latter says: I will teach the wicked Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.