The Power of Grace
29 June 2018
Today is the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, and the readings highlight precisely what it was that made them both the vital figures in the early church that they were.
Paul reveals it when he says,
“The Lord stood by me and gave me power so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed.” In the vigil mass for this feast, Paul proclaims that “God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach the Good News.”
The same truth is revealed about Peter when Jesus says of him, “Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church.”
These passages show us why they were appointed to lead the fledgling church and to spread the Gospel through the world.
It’s grace.
It was grace that showed Paul the truth even though he was a murderer and gave him the power to endure any suffering for the sake of spreading the Gospel. It was by God’s grace that Simon became Peter and thus able to discern the true nature of Jesus, heal the sick and lead the church.
God’s grace is the free and undeserved help that we receive from Him by his love for us. Peter and Paul were not perfect men. The New Testament records their failures and struggles. But by the power of the Holy Spirit, they were able to do incredible wonders.
It is not by our power that we become good but through the miraculous power of God. Peter and Paul didn’t start by having it all together. But they had God, and they followed him through every trial, accepting God’s forgiveness when they fell.
God builds his church upon those who will depend on his grace.