SAINTS AND PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES (SOLEMNITY)

Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “diamond in the rough.” It’s a reminder that diamonds don’t begin as beautiful gemstones. Most have been formed far beneath the Earth’s surface under extreme temperature and pressure over millions of years.

We could apply this phrase to Peter and Paul, the two saints whose feast we celebrate today. They might have ended up looking like “diamonds,” but they certainly didn’t start out that way. How did they become such bold followers of Christ?

The key wasn’t their “flesh and blood” personalities but God’s grace in hard situations (Matthew 16:17). That’s what helped them smooth out their “roughness” over time.

Look at today’s Gospel. When Peter responded to God’s grace and proclaimed Jesus as the Christ, he might have felt like a diamond. But a few short verses later, he stood in the way of Jesus’ mission, moving Jesus to rebuke him (Matthew 16:23). Peter wasn’t quite there yet, but he didn’t give up. He kept following the Lord, who didn’t give up on him.

Or take Paul. He started out as a sworn enemy of Christians, to the point of arresting them. But after Jesus appeared to him near Damascus, he became a zealous apostle (Acts 9:1-20). Even then, though, he still had some rough edges. In response to his bold style of preaching, many wanted to kill him (9:23, 29). So Paul had to escape first from Damascus and then Jerusalem so that he could spend some time maturing. Each step along the way prepared him and equipped him for the mission Jesus had in mind.

Today, think of yourself as a “diamond in the rough” like Peter and Paul. The same Lord who persisted with them will persist with you. He will use the circumstances of your life to bring you closer to him. So look for God’s grace in those situations and allow them to form you. The more you open yourself to his work, the more you will resemble the saint he’s calling you to be.

“Lord, help me to see the grace you want to pour on me today. I want to be holy like you!”

Acts 12:1-11
Psalm 34:2-9
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
Matthew 16:13-19