The first reading of today’s Mass gives a clear picture of
Paul’s relationship with the first Pope and Curia. What can the Church today learn from it?
First of all, we can see clearly that God gives strong gifts
to members of the Church who are not part of the hierarchy. Paul received the Gospel from Christ himself,
independently of the then current teaching authority of the Church. This tells us that God is ultimately in
charge of the Christian project to redeem the world and is the ultimate
strategist for the Kingdom.
Second, independent or not, Paul is given a revelation to go
to Peter and others of the Twelve to verify that he is teaching the same Gospel
as they. The then hierarchy agreed
with Paul’s proclamation and his right to proclaim. It seems
obvious from this that God wishes one message spoken, a unity of faith in the
Church, that goes beyond personality and personal charism. Each gifted member, then, has the duty to
ensure this by realizing communion with the leadership.
Within the context of the mutual handshake, Paul confronts
the first Pope with his error. Peter was
living one way as a Christian (not observing the Law of Moses himself) and yet
talking another way to Gentile converts (requiring them to observe the
Law). The hypocrisy was born of
Peter’s fear of the faction in the community that insisted on observance of
Mosaic Law as part of Christian practice.
Paul saw that Peter and his colleagues “were not on the right road in
line with the truth of the Gospel” and he dared to speak up. He boldly unmasked Peter and corrected his
point of view with Gospel arguments. It
is Paul’s position, not Peter’s, that was subsequently embraced in Christian
history. All of this tells us that
dissent is legitimate, sometimes necessary, in the Church as long as it speaks the Gospel truth. And that is the great
challenge of any dissenter.
The Church today, to be true to its call, should take care not
to deny this Paul and Peter story in any of its aspects.
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