Readings:
Sermon:
I wonder who has inspired you during your life. Who are the people that you have known in person or through books, music or art. Whose kindness, love, example, ideas, creativity, teaching or inspiration have most shaped you into the person that you are today. If you are a Christian, I wonder who has most inspired you on your journey of faith. Have there been particular people along the way or those you have learnt about but never met? I wonder who from the Bible most inspires you? I wonder what it is or was about those people that have come to mind?
Today is the feast of St Peter & St Paul, which is of course the day in our church calendar when we reflect upon Peter and Paul and their lives, example and faith.
If I think through my Christian journey there have been many people that have inspired me. From my younger days the curate at the church where I grew up and those I heard share their stories at Christian festivals, the many people I met through reading their books or books about them, and over the years faithful men and women of prayer that I saw living out their faith in the everyday comings and goings of life.
When I think about those who have inspired me it has often been the honesty and humility of their faith that has been really significant. They are certainly not people who always got it right, but those who kept on going, tried again, kept renewing their trust in God in the midst of ups and downs and moments of great doubt or great faith.
Peter and Paul are honoured as two people who were key figures in the early church. Peter had been with Jesus throughout most of his life, whereas Paul had never met the historical Jesus, but encountered the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus. Peter, after earlier moments of faith and trust, such as the one we heard in our gospel reading today, denied Jesus three times. Paul went about persecuting Christians before his life was transformed and he began to fervently preach the gospel far and wide.
They had different starts in life and faith and different journeys of faith as they discovered who they were called to be in God. Their missions were also different, preaching mainly to Jews or Gentiles. Despite their different paths to faith, they both came to have a faith and trust in God, that shaped not just their lives, but the lives of many around them.
This weekend is ordination weekend in the Diocese and some will be ordained Deacon and others Priest in Worcester Cathedral. This weekend will be my 10th anniversary of ordination. For each of those ordained the journey will have been different. They will have been born into different situations, had different nurturing influences, different faith journeys and have wonderfully different personalities, skills and gifts. As each of them begins their new chapter of ministry, they will do that uniquely, but also with much in common with those who have come before them.
Each of us are called to bring who we are and to seek to share the good news of Jesus and the love of God through our words and actions. Whatever our starting point, whatever inadequacies or mistakes, reflecting on Peter and Paul reminds us that we have a God that can lead us all into the fullness of life that we are meant to know.
In our gospel passage Jesus asks Peter ‘Who do you say that I am?’ and he answers ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Perhaps you came to that realisation many years ago, or perhaps your faith is just emerging. Perhaps like Peter your faith grew over time with moments of doubt, denial or uncertainty along the way. Perhaps like Paul there was a sudden encounter that dramatically changed the course of your life.
Whatever you story is, the encouragement and call is to keep following, to keep trusting and to discover God’s faithfulness and presence every step of the way. We need followers of Jesus from every background to share their stories with a gloriously diverse humanity so that all can hear the good news.
As we celebrate this feast day whether in the Cathedral, in a parish church or in our homes, may we be inspired and encouraged by Peter and Paul. Perhaps you may have the opportunity to thank someone who inspires you in your journey. Whether you realise it or not you may be that person to someone else as you navigate the twists and turns of life seeking to keep trusting God. It may be that the person who inspires you is no longer with us. As we remember with thanks the lives of Peter and Paul, we may want to take time to remember others who have gone to rest who played a part in our journey.
Whatever our starting point, we give thanks that the God who calls us is faithful.
Questions:
- Take some time to think about who inspires or has inspired you on your journey of faith.
- Who can you pray for today who has not yet heard God’s call to them
- What might God be calling you to step into, keep doing or lay down in this season?