Letter from the Rector
One of the earliest nursery rhymes I remember my mother teaching me was this one:
Two little dickie birds sitting on a wall.
One named Peter, one named Paul.
Fly away, Peter! Fly away, Paul!
Come back, Peter! Come back, Paul!
It came with actions that you did with your fingers. The original version from the seventeenth century spoke of two blackbirds called Jack and Gill. They were replaced by Peter and Paul in the nineteenth century. I am not sure why.
Every year on 29th June, the Christian Church commemorates the Apostles Peter and Paul. Peter, the disciple who denied Jesus three times and went on to become the rock upon which the Church was founded, and Paul who was knocked off his horse by a vision of Christ and went on to spread the message of Christ to the Mediterranean world. Between them, they were instrumental in shaping the early Christian faith. Many of the New Testament writings are attributed to them. Each testified to the life changing message of Jesus. Each was prepared to die for it.
However, they did not get on. The New Testament book of Acts and the letter to the Galatians tells us that they fell out about the kind of rules that new converts to Christianity were meant to keep. It was an argument about the limits of inclusion in the burgeoning Christian movement. You can read about the details in Acts chapters 11-15, but that’s not important right now.
What is striking is that from the very start, there were tensions and disagreements in the Church, and these two titanic figures were not exempt from this. They each believed passionately in their interpretation of the matter. They we both motivated by a desire to do the right thing. They wanted people everywhere to hear and respond to the Christian message, but they disputed the best way to go about this. Paul might have found life easier if Peter had flown away, and Peter might have sighed with relief had Paul flown away. However, they stayed and thrashed it out. Come back, Peter, come back, Paul!
The result was an understanding of the Gospel and the Church which Paul summarizes as ‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’. A radical inclusion: all are welcome.
In today’s Church, we face many challenges as we seek to share the good news of Jesus. Christians often disagree about how to do this, and about the extent of inclusivity, but such disagreement, when handled in the right way and for the right reasons, can serve the greater good, just as it did for Peter and Paul.
Rev.Trevor
