Two Greats

 Matthew 16: 13-19

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Today we honor two great pillars of the Church, Saints Peter and Paul. When we look st these men before Jesus called them and turned their lives inside out, we would see not reason for choosing them to be leaders, apostles, heralds of 'the new way."  Their transformation is more than remarkable, it is "miraculous". We see them grow, from stubborn fisherman and fearless persecutor, to Bishop of  Rome and tireless missionary, preacher, writer and miracle worker. Can such a transformation happen today? Can it happen to me? Scary, but as we celebrate these men, let us open our hearts to allow God to do with us whatever he wants.  He never abandoned them, so also will he stick with us.

Bro. Rene

Dear God as we look at our world today, we see the need for more  Peters and Pauls. Help me to do whatever I can to continue their mission of preaching and teaching, however best I can. Amen.