June: Day 29: Teaching 2:
Holy Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul
(The Apostles Teach Us By Their Lives the Truth That Without the Grace of God Man Is Very Weak)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Holy Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul
(The Apostles Teach Us By Their Lives the Truth That Without the Grace of God Man Is Very Weak)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. The Holy Church gives great praise to the Apostles Peter and Paul, who are celebrated today. Their labors for the dissemination and strengthening of our holy faith and the Church are above all our praises. In this regard, it is enough for us to participate with mind and heart in the hymns of the Holy Church, composed in honor of the Holy Apostles. We cannot think of anything better. And why would we think of anything better, when the labors of the evangelism of the Apostles Peter and Paul are in full view of everyone and make everyone who reflects only revere them? However, it's only for those who reflect, as you can’t truly grasp their importance without considering the deeds of the apostles.
II. Why are the Apostles Peter and Paul called "foremost"? By their character, by their special zeal for the gospel of Christ, by the boldness of their actions for the spread of the Christian faith, for which Peter was crucified, of his own free will, head down, considering himself unworthy to be crucified in the image of Christ the Savior, as he had once denied Him three times in fear, by the liveliness of his character; and Paul was beheaded with the sword.
a) The Apostle Peter was chosen by the Lord at the very beginning of His open ministry to the human race, and was renamed from Simon Peter, because he was the first of the apostles to recognize Jesus as the true Messiah. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," he said to the Savior's question: "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15 and 16). The confession spoken by Peter is the cornerstone of Christianity, which is why the one who spoke was called a rock: Peter means a rock; he was named so also as a sign that the Savior knew what firmness of faith he would show in time. And indeed, having washed with bitter tears his threefold, but most brief renunciation of Christ in the hours of His suffering, he later sealed his faith with blood and death on the cross. Truly, the Apostle Peter is the foremost!
b) But Paul was not an apostle at first, not only among the twelve, but even among the seventy. He did not accompany the Lord during His preaching, but converted to Christ after His ascension into heaven, in a miraculous way. Paul, known as Saul in Judaism, was the most cruel persecutor of Christians, and then became worthy of the name of the foremost apostle by his great merits for the Church; this is what the grace of God means! It made the most powerful defender of Christianity out of a terrible enemy.
The Apostle Paul says of himself: "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10). And indeed, how can one explain such a great revolution in the soul of a person, as happened with Saul, otherwise than by a special supernatural action of God? For this Paul became a worthy vessel of grace by his tireless activity for the benefit of Christianity. He himself says: "I labored more than all of them" (v . 10). And who will worthily depict all the labors of Paul? Saint Chrysostom himself refrained from fully praising the great apostle. The Holy Church sings: "Who can speak of your bonds and tribulations in every city, glorious Apostle Paul? The labors, afflictions, and vigils that you endured in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in stonings and the depths of sufferings? You were a disgrace to angels and men alike: indeed, you have endured all this through Christ who strengthens you.”
Even before his conversion to Christianity, Paul was well educated; he not only knew the Old Testament books of the Holy Scriptures perfectly, but also the ancient pagan Greek writers. He possessed excellent abilities, and so, when the grace-filled power revived him to a new life, he sacrificed all his knowledge and abilities to Christianity; he proved the truth of the Christian faith with irresistible force, and refuted the false opinions of the Jews. His epistles, which are so often heard in the Church, are the highest theology. Is Paul not worthy, after this, of the name of the foremost apostle? And his preaching in different parts of the world? How many Churches did he found! But I cannot count all the merits of the Apostle Paul; his best image is in his own epistles.
III. Let us hasten to the conclusion. The Apostles Peter and Paul, by their lives teaching a lesson to the shepherds of the Church of Christ, preachers of the faith and leaders to salvation, together with this teach by their deeds to each what he can do, what strength a person can have with the grace of God, and how weak he is, left to himself.
Peter without grace repeatedly shows rashness and weakness; with grace he is firm, unshakable, fiery. Paul, with his natural powers, is educated, but does not see the truth; with grace he saw the true light, recognized the poverty of worldly wisdom without Christ, became strong in self-denial for the truth, tirelessly active, loving. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Who shall separate us from the love of God?" (Phil. 4:13, Rom. 8:35)?
Let us remember that our natural powers alone are weak and that we can always be strong in word and deed with the assistance of God’s grace. But how often we forget this! And receiving grace in the holy mysteries, we are weak because, as a result of sins, we lose it, we do not kindle it with our labor, our deeds, our repentance. God’s grace acts in us, but not without us – not forcing, but inclining our will to good through our freedom, and the gift of God that lives in us must be kindled by Christian activity, by our own diligence; then the fire of zeal for faith and piety will be apostolic in you, constant and strong. Amen.
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
