Today commemorates Peter and Paul. It’s hard to find two early Christians so different from each other. Peter was a fisherman who followed Jesus and seems to have been the leader of the Twelve. Paul was a tent maker who, unlike Peter, was well-educated in the Jewish law. He never met the earthly Jesus but was converted to Christianity by a vision of Jesus a few years after the Crucifixion. Both Peter and Paul were missionaries and, according to tradition, both were put to death in Rome although not at the same time. It’s because of the association with Rome that both apostles are celebrated on the same day.

Peter and Paul had met several times before their sojourn in Rome. Paul went to visit Peter a few years after his conversion, then they met at the Council of Jerusalem around AD 48 where Peter and Paul spoke in favor of the mission to the Gentiles. And then came the incident that one of my professors called the Fracas at Antioch.  The two were in Antioch when some representatives from James, the brother of Jesus, arrived. It seems at that moment Peter withdrew from eating with gentiles. Paul told him off for being a hypocrite. We may never know exactly what the fuss was about, but Paul left Antioch shortly after the incident.

I suppose the church members have always had heated disagreements. I believe that we can get past those fractious times when we, like Peter and Paul, focus on our mission to share the Good News.

Read Acts 15:6-18 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne