It is both fitting and difficult to celebrate these two apostles in the same liturgical moment. Together they are the foundation of the infant Church, yet in temperament and ministry they are nearly opposites. Peter, the impetuous braggart who could be counted on only to back out when the chips were down, yet who always repented and persevered, became the foundation "rock" of the Church. Paul, the most Jewish of Jews, had the insight to realize that the early Christian Church had to give up its "Jewishness" if it was to be truly universal; and he had the courage to maintain his conviction even in face of strong and sometimes violent opposition.

The readings of the vigil seem to speak more of the call and mission of these apostles, while the Mass of the day concentrates on their primal position as apostles.

The love demanded by Jesus is not mere attachment and affection, but the enduring love of total commitment and fidelity. The threefold question and answer echoes the threefold denial during Christ’s passion (see Jn 18:17-22) but also underscores the importance of the moment in itself. The consequence of this love is the mission of the apostles, which is not to do their own will, but to fulfill God’s will in imitation of Jesus the Master (vv 18-19).

The dramatic character of this cure could obscure its important lesson about the apostolic ministry, namely, that the working of God’s power requires the utmost attention and care on the part of the minister. It was God, not Peter and John, who healed the man. Yet, without their care for the person before them, and without their total concentration and conviction, the cure would not have taken place (read carefully vv 4-7). God accomplishes his will through the apostles (and we are all called to be apostles), but this is not a by-product of some other activity or a sideline occupation. The fulfillment of God’s will demands that we care deeply and intensely about it.

This psalm reinforces the sense of apostolic mission — God makes himself known to all humanity through his works. Response: "Their message goes out through all the earth."

In Paul’s description of his own call and sending as an apostle, he repeats the theme of the Gospel: his task is to pass on what he has received — the apostle’s mission originates in the call and sending forth by Christ, it is not undertaken on one’s own initiative.

This passage is often used as a proof text for the primacy of the Pope. It may well be that, but to stop there is to set aside rich insight into our own participation in the mission of the Church. The "power of the keys" is rightly understood as referring to the authority of Peter and his successors in the ministry of leading and unifying the Church, but it also provides us with an image of the mission of the whole Church, ourselves included. The Church is the doorway to God’s kingdom. Each of us as a member of the Church has the power to unlock that doorway — to welcome all we meet, by our spirit of love and forgiveness, into association with us in the kingdom. But we can also close the door of the kingdom to others, excluding them by our attitudes of superiority, prejudice, selfishness, or negligence. As Christians, we have the power to open or to lock the door of God’s kingdom. By our own words and actions we cannot help but exercise this power — one way or the other.

The liberation of Peter from prison echoes many events of Jewish history (the deliverance of Joseph, Gn 39:21-41:57; the three young men, Dn 3; and Daniel, Dn 6) that consciously reflect the paschal liberation (Ex 12:42). Peter now undergoes the same trial and deliverance as his Master, and in his own person becomes a sign of God’s deliverance of his people.

This psalm, in the words of one being unjustly persecuted, echoes hope for deliverance and freedom. Response: "The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him."

Paul is writing from prison at the end of his life. The only deliverance he can expect is death, and he confidently proclaims that it is the greatest deliverance of all. The death of the Christian who has lived and worked in union with the death of Christ through baptism is true release to freedom and glory.

1. Discuss the qualities of people you know who are exemplary apostles in the light of these readings.

2. Discuss the differences and similarities between Peter and Paul.