In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Lord has revealed to us many mysteries today in the midst of our sacred gathering, and the revelation of others will yet happen. Many words were spoken and will be spoken; but lest we lose some spiritual benefit, it is well pleasing to God to stop and take a moment and consider what has been given over to us in word and rite.
On this day, we commemorate the apostolic testimony of Jesus Christ. We remember in psalms, hymns, and readings the lives and deeds of the two great Apostles of our Lord, Peter and Paul. And their testimony for us is this: the God who made heaven and earth in the beginning has acted decisively in time and revealed Himself to us in the person of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. When Paul says in his Second Letter to the Corinthians today that he is a Hebrew, an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, he reminds us that his mission is to the Gentiles. To be sure, this is a ministry for which he suffered many things; but the content of his mission is to bring all people, all nations to faith in the one God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. The apostolic labors of Peter and Paul that we hear about today are described by the Psalmist as “their words have gone to the ends of the universe” (Psalm 18[19]:4), precisely so that all people can come to faith in Jesus Christ and His Father by the Holy Spirit.
In other words, we are not called to have faith in an unknown god who has remained hidden and unknown, or some sort of mythical deity with a creation story. No, Peter and Paul call us to the knowledge of the God who revealed Himself to Paul in his weakness, the God who revealed to Simon Peter that Jesus of Nazareth was in fact “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Such revelation was given not through “flesh and blood,” but through our Father who is in heaven (Mt 16:16–17). It is the same God who reveals Himself to us today, brothers and sisters, according to the apostolic testimony and teaching, in the sacred words of the Holy Scriptures.
A pattern is given from this testimony for us to follow: initial faith stirs our desire for knowledge, and greater knowledge leads to greater faith. As Paul says elsewhere, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.… For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith” (Rom 1:16–17). The books have been opened, the words have just been read, the mystery has been revealed, knowledge has been given, as we have heard the “inexpressible words” of the “third heaven,” for which “it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Cor 12:2–4).
As such, let us give due honor to the great Apostles, Peter and Paul, giving thanks to God for their testimony, that we should come to the knowledge of “the one God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” and the Holy Spirit through faith—so that our faith is strengthened, and with such faith we may enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, unto the ages of ages. Amen.