Festival of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles
Posted on June 29, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 12:1-8 (NKJV)
12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Devotion
The Psalms, the Prophets, and the Apostles reiterate the Lord’s will that He desires mercy and not sacrifice. God desires faith that clings to Him alone for mercy, and in turn does the works that show forth His mercy. The works and sacrifices that are undesirable, even offensive, to God are those that ignore faith and mercy.
God wanted mankind to do righteous works and obey His commands. Adam and Eve were given work to do, and they were given the Sabbath Day as a time of rest. The Lord showed mercy when they failed in their works. He promised them a Savior, He clothed them, and He assured them that there would still be blessings for them, even as they were expected to work during the days leading to the death that they brought upon themselves. In all this God was merciful.
Today we remember the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul. Peter was shown mercy multiple times after he failed in the faith and work that Christ had taught him to observe. And Paul was also raised to great service for the Gospel, even after being a man who brought fear and murder to God’s people. Neither one could make up for their sins, even with all the good works wrought through them after Christ’s ascension. Only God’s mercy through Jesus Christ could make them true saints. The same is true for all of us!
Prayer: O Almighty God, Who by Thy Son, Jesus Christ, didst give to Thy holy Apostles many excellent gifts, and commandedst them earnestly to feed Thy flock: Make, we beseech Thee, all Pastors diligently to preach Thy holy Word, and the people obediently to follow the same, that they may receive the crown of everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Third Sunday after Trinity Sunday
O God, the Protector of all that trust in Thee, without Whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us Thy mercy; that Thou being our Ruler and Guide, we may so pass through things temporal. that we finally lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
