St. Peter and St. Paul, 2025

Baptism of Boden Matthew Jones

Texts: Acts 15:1-21; Galatians 2:1-10; Matthew 16:13-19

Title: Peter, Paul, and Bodie

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Today we give thanks to give for St. Peter, for St. Paul, and for St. Bodie.

The first two saints you probably know well.

Peter was a fisherman, called by Jesus to be a fisher of men.  He was impulsive.  He was always opening his mouth.

Sometimes this was a good thing, like in today’s gospel, when he boldly confessed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the very Son of God.

Sometimes this was a bad thing, like in the story that comes next in the gospels, when Peter tried to stop Jesus from going to Jerusalem to die.

You may also remember Peter as the one who denied Jesus three times when Jesus was on trial.

But ultimately, the Lord had good use of Peter.

Peter was the spokesman for the disciples at Pentecost.  He opened his mouth to explain to the crowds that what they were seeing and hearing was Jesus’ work, that He was truly risen and ascended, but He was still working in this world through the Holy Spirit, and that they could be a part of it, too, if they would repent and be baptized.

In the end, Peter’s big mouth got him killed. He couldn’t stop talking about Jesus, so the only way that Caesar could shut him up was by putting him to death.

But that was not the end for Peter.  Peter witnesses to us still, through the epistles that he wrote, and through the stories of the Gospels and the book of Acts that show us how Jesus can use a regular guy with a big mouth to lead His church.

St. Paul you probably know well, too.

Paul was the leader of the opposition; he was Peter’s nemesis in the years after Jesus’ ascension. 

Paul was highly educated, big on tradition, and he did everything he could to stop the spread of the Gospel because he was convinced that Peter and rest were wrong.

But Jesus loved Paul, despite all that Paul had done to His followers.  He appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and changed His life.

Paul went from trying to destroy the church, to preaching boldly that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God—that same message that Peter proclaimed at Caesarea Philippi and on Pentecost.

And Paul, too, gave witness to this faith by suffering beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, until he, too, ultimately gave his life for his Savior.

Paul’s letters are read here week after week to instruct us, to correct us, and to encourage us.

St. Peter and St. Paul you know well.  St. Bodie, probably not so much.  You might not think that he deserves to be in the same company as these apostles.

But, like Peter and Paul, Bodie began his life as a stranger to Jesus, even his enemy.

That’s how we were all born, inheriting original sin from our parents Adam and Eve.

That’s why the baptismal rite begins by renouncing Satan and all his works and ways.

But the Lord loves Bodie, just as He loved Peter and Paul, and you, too.  He gave His life on the cross for Bodie’s sin, for Peter and Paul’s sin, and for yours and for mine.

In Holy Baptism, all of that sin was washed away, and he was forgiven.

We don’t know what lies ahead for Bodie, and all that the Lord will do in and through him in the years to come. 

No two saints are alike.  Peter and Paul were very different people and their lives and their service to the Lord looked very different.

Peter focused his work among the Jews, Paul among the Gentiles.

The Lord only had one Peter and one Paul, and He’s only got one of you.  You have gifts and talents that are special and unique only to you. 

Peter and Paul were apostles.  They were specifically chosen and sent by the Lord to preach and teach and to represent Him publicly. 

But that doesn’t mean that they’re more important than you.  It’s just as important for you to love and serve the people God has put into your life, for you to teach your kids and grandkids about Jesus, for you to show your friends and neighbors what unconditional love looks like, for you to remain faithful to Jesus, even when it’s unpopular or dangerous to do so.

Think about it.  Pray about.  Talk about it with your Christian brothers and sisters.  How is Jesus calling you to serve Him here at Zion, in your family, in your community?

It’s not something that you have to do on your own. Paul had Barnabas.  Peter had James and John.  The Lord gives you Christian friends and family members to support one another and to build each other up when life gets difficult.

And in the end, you always have Jesus.  Jesus was with Peter and Paul to the end. Jesus has now joined himself to Bodie with water and His Name.  And for all of you who have been baptized in His Name, Jesus goes with you today to face whatever lies ahead.

Peter and Paul are not the big deal today. Bodie is not the big deal today. The big deal today is Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for each one of us, Jesus, who sent Peter and Paul as His preachers, and who sends you to witness to Him in your everyday life, Jesus who will come again in glory and raise all the dead, including those folks sleeping out in the cemetery today.

The church is not built on the foundation of Peter or Paul.  The church is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, to whom Peter and Paul bore witness by their words and deeds, and to whom you have the opportunity to share in this witness.  And even Bodie, too, who joins the ranks of the saints of God today.

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