June 29th – Holy Glorious and all praised Leaders of the Apostles, Peter & Paul
Saint Peter, originally known as Simon,
was the son of a man named John,
and his brother’s name was Andrew.
We also know that he was married,
since Jesus cured his mother-in-law at the family home
at Bethsaida in Gallilee [Matth.8: 14-17].
A fisherman by trade, Jesus was to call Peter,
along with his brother Andrew and James and John,
to leave everything behind to become His followers.
He said to them
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men“.
Matthew 4: 19
It is because of Peter’s confession of faith
in Jesus as Messiah
that Jesus gave him the nickname of “rock”
and stated that
it was upon the rock of Peter’s faith
that the Church would rise [Matth.16: 18].
All the Gospel writers list Peter first
when naming the apostles of Jesus,
and there is no doubt that Peter was
the “first among equals”
in the minds of the earliest Christians.
Time and again in the Gospels, however,
Peter demonstrates that his faith is imperfect, but growing.
He says things that make Jesus react strongly:
he denies that Jesus’ coming death should ever be allowed to happen [Matth.16: 22],
tells Jesus at the last Supper that He will never wash his feet [John 13: 8],
and denies association with Jesus three times, Continuă să citești






