Bishop Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with Exaudi readers his reflection on the Gospel of this Sunday, June 29, 2025, entitled:  “You are Peter and I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

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Acts 12:1-11:  “Now I am sure that God has sent his angel to rescue me from Herod’s hands.”

Psalm 33:  “The Lord delivered me from all my fears”

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18:  “Now I wait only for the crown I deserve.”

Matthew 16:13-19:  “You are Peter, and I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

This Sunday, we leave the continuous reading of Ordinary Sundays to pause and contemplate these two great apostles: Saints Peter and Paul: two saints, two disciples, two pillars of the Church. They also offer us two ways of living to the fullest the love and following of Jesus. Peter often appears as the model of the disciple, with his boldness and impetus, with his erroneous stances and ambitions, with his generous and selfless dedication. Paul, tireless, opens new frontiers for the journey of the Gospel and leads it along unexpected paths.

How different are the paths by which the Lord calls and those by which he leads his friends! Saints Peter and Paul, the two fundamental figures in the Church, appear as prototypes of the disciple and as models of following Jesus. At the beginning of each of their vocations, there is a profound encounter with Jesus and a transformation of all their aspirations and beliefs. The crucial question they must answer:  “Who is Christ for you?” demands not a theoretical response, but a new mentality and an entire life. Peter’s initial call, leaving his nets and family behind, was not enough; he must face a profound inner change. In today’s passage, he is shown determined to confess that Jesus is the Messiah, but now he must humbly discover who Jesus really is. He will have to abandon the concepts and dreams of the Jewish people about a liberating and fanciful messianism that was confined only to his people, in order to begin to live a new form of universal messianism and salvation, but one that involves the way of the cross.

Paul had to be brought down to the ground, stripped of all his certainties, and answer Jesus’ questions  : “Why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” This led him to renew himself and discover a new doctrine and salvation. Thus, at the beginning of both of them, we have this profound encounter where Jesus reveals himself to them. It must also be the beginning of every believer: to sincerely answer Jesus’ question and confess who he is for us. What does Jesus mean in my life? What am I willing to do for him? How has he changed my attitudes and my choices? Confessions learned from catechism are not enough, nor are dogmas or teachings that give us certainties. We need to have a personal relationship with Jesus and discover how much he loves us, how he gave himself for us, and how he gives us life.

Both of them, inflamed by the ardor of the Gospel, had to face difficulties of every kind, both internal and external, in their apostolic mission. But far from abandoning their activity, the difficulties strengthened their zeal for the new Church and the salvation of all people. They were able to overcome every obstacle because the truth is not based on human aspirations, but on the grace of God, which frees his friends from every danger and saves them for his kingdom. Today we can consider ourselves followers and continuators of these two great apostles, not based on our own strength, but on the grace of the Lord. Are the difficulties we now suffer more serious than those of their time? Do we lack the impetus and strength necessary to face current difficulties? Peter confronted the outdated interpretations of the law of the Jewish people; he himself had to change his thinking about the Messiah and conform his thinking to that of Jesus. How he suffered in this transformation!

Paul had to abandon all the security afforded him by Pharisaic doctrine and open himself to a new world: the new religion, the new way, “paganism.” Both followed a new, different path, stripping themselves of what they were and had to transform themselves into Jesus, to such an extent that Paul came to fully identify with Christ,  “It is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me.” Peter was commissioned to take Jesus’ place in leading the Church. Conversion, leaving behind certainties, opening oneself to the Lord’s grace, remaining faithful despite obstacles, and opening oneself to a new world are also the lessons for each of us. Will we be able to renew ourselves and live in the style of these two great apostles?

Both have their difficult and disconcerting moments; both suffer for following Jesus, but both remain faithful in his following. It will help us greatly to compare our lives with the lives of these two great apostles, who at all times sought to conform themselves to Jesus himself. Their sufferings, their pains, their adventures, all seem copied from the life of Jesus. Today, too, the disciple would have to ask himself at every moment how Jesus would act in these circumstances, what his proposals and priorities would be. We cannot say that Jesus lived two thousand years ago, because his Gospel is relevant and has answers for our modern world. Saint Paul knew how to incarnate the Gospel in new cultures and in environments considered pagan; today, we too must take the Gospel to the frontiers, to the corners of our world, to the new peripheries. Peter and Paul, two different models of Church, but inflamed by the Gospel, leave us the challenge of living Jesus’ proposal in unity and dynamism today.

Lord Jesus, you have left us an example of discipleship and missionary work in the apostles Peter and Paul. Grant that, inflamed by your Gospel, we may bring the good news to every new reality with our words and our witness. Amen.