Saints Peter and Paul
June 29 is designated as the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. You might think that this is one example of the Church having a sense of humor, for these two make an unlikely pair. Two great pillars of the first century church, the New Testatment does not depict them in close union. Each is clearly gifted, each is committed to serving Christ - and each is just as clearly headstrong and stubborn. According to Paul (in Galatians 2), Peter extended the hand of fellowship and affirmed Paul's ministry to the gentiles. Yet they clashed in Antioch over Peter's equivocation about breaking the boundaries between Jew and gentile. It may well be that they had different visions for the Jesus-movement that would later grow into a Jewish-derived but non-Jewish "church." It may also be that two strong egos had a bit of rivalry. Yet the church put them together at an early date, commemorating this as the date of their martyrdom. This is something they unambiguously shared. T...