DAILY BIBLE DEVOTION

 

TWO APOSTLES

This weekend we celebrated the

Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, two

men who were called by Christ to

go out and bring the Good News to

the world. Two very different men,

called in different ways.

Peter was once a disciple of John

the Baptist who was directed by

John to follow Jesus. Paul was

against this man Jesus who was, in

his mind, turning people away

from God. Yet we have benefitted

from the preaching and teaching

of them both. Peter is the "Rock"

upon whom Jesus built his church

and Paul is the Apostle to the

Gentiles, the non-Jews, who might

never have heard about Jesus as

their Savior. They each had

different stories of conversion -

Paul's considerably more dramatic!

They had different styles, different

communities of believers, but they

had one purpose - to preach Jesus

Christ crucified and risen from the

dead.

Jesus, the Messiah and Lord sent to

save the world from death due to

sin and to open the gates of heaven

to all who would believe. Just

before his ascension, Jesus tells his

followers to go out into the world

making disciples of all nations.

Peter and Paul, as well as the other

apostles and his other disciples did

just that.

We, too, have been called by virtue

of our baptism to go out and make

disciples. We have different stories

of conversion - and some of us

may not even know we have a

story because we have always

believed. Some of us may have a

dramatic story of realizing that

Jesus is Lord in our lives. The

question is, "How do we let people

know the Good News?!

Are our lives a witness to our

beliefs? Are we embarrassed to

admit we are believers? Would any

of us be identified and then cast

into prison because our faith is so

apparent to others, as was the faith

of Peter and Paul? My hope is that

at the end of my life I can say with

St. Paul, "1 have competed well; I

have finished the race; I have kept

the faith"

PRAYER

Lord, thank you for the gift of

these two apostles as without them

the Good News of Salvation might

never have spread so far. Amen.