THE SERMON OF THE MOST REVERREND BISHOP VLADIMIR FEKETE ON THE FEAST OF HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL – 29 JUNE 2023

Dear bothers and sisters, 

The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul were very different from each other, they were people of different characters. But what united them was incomparably stronger than all the differences, namely, love for Christ. This love, and above all, Jesus Christ Himself, was revealed to them in completely different ways, but the attraction of the Son of God was so great that Peter, a simple fisherman with a family, accustomed to everyday work, and Paul, a brilliantly educated Pharisee, once a cruel persecutor of the Church, were ready to leave everything for the sake of Christ, in whom they recognized the Son of God. Peter’s answer to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” – “You are the Christ – the Son of the living God” became the foundation of their new life. And we can begin this new life in Christ only on this foundation, only if we sincerely answer ourselves the question – who is Jesus Christ for me? Perhaps, at the beginning of our Christian journey, when everything was new for us, we were more confident in who Christ was for us and our heart burned from the realization that we had met the Son of God. But, as often happens in relationships between people, especially in families, the heat of first love gradually fades away and this is normal, because a person cannot constantly “burn” with some kind of feeling, even religious, otherwise we would turn into “ashes” too quickly. “. What matters is not what and how much we feel. It is important that our mind, although not always framed by feelings, but constantly give us the right answer to the question – “Who is Jesus for me?” – Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! And there is nothing more important than this truth in my life and cannot be, same as it was in the life of Saints Peter and Paul.

Christ chose them to bring the light of faith, the light of the Gospel into that dark, cruel, pagan world in which they lived. Both Peter and Paul had to suffer severely from people who preferred darkness to light. They became martyrs, but by the power of Christ, by the power of their faith, they managed to change that world, to find in it a place for light, for love, for morality. We can say, “Yes, but they were special, they were apostles, chosen by Christ.” But aren’t we also chosen by Christ? Having met Christ and put on Him in holy baptism, we became His apostles, whom He, like once Peter and Paul, calls to bring His Light into this world, where false “gods” still reign – money, power, lust. It is not easy. It was not easy for the holy apostles either. Today, in the second reading, St. Paul, looking back at his life, anticipating its imminent end, says wonderful and very touching words: “I fought a good fight, I finished the course, I kept the faith.” The apostles were not superhuman, they were not sinless, they walked along the road of faith through many falls, but they drew their strength from Christ. Keeping faith in Christ is the main task, and everything that we do in our spiritual life, we must do for the sake of this goal: to keep faith in Christ, the Son of the Living God. Let us today, especially after Holy Communion, ask God that, through the intercession of Saints Peter and Paul, taht He would grant us such faith and help us keep it as the most precious pearl. Amen.