My eldest son is in 7th grade this year, and he’s taking world history. And he delights in bringing his teacher’s statements home and asking me what I think about them. The other day he told me that his teacher had said that some think that Peter was the most important of the apostles but that Paul had more influence on the course of history.*

And I said, “Well, no…it’s more complicated than that.”

As stated, it is a false dichotomy. It suggests that we must choose either Peter or Paul; which is rather like saying we must choose the heart or the lungs. Frankly, I’d hate to lose either one. It also suggests that there is a single measure of importance, and that all historical figures can be precisely ranked using it.

I remember my CCD teacher asking the class, “Which is more important: Christmas or Easter?” I raised my hand and answered the question: “Christmas!” She told me I was mistaken; Easter is more important. She’s right of course; but she was also wrong. She no doubt assumed (as you probably did) that I thought Christmas was more important because I liked Christmas presents better than Easter eggs. In fact, I thought Christmas was more important because it’s logically prior to Easter: if Jesus isn’t born, He can’t die on the cross. She was saying that Easter is more important due to its immediate effects.

There are multiple ways of looking at things. When you make a judgement like, “Paul is more important than Peter,” you need to define your standard of importance.

How is Paul important? He spread Christianity through much of the Roman World, and the churches he founded had a lasting effect. And he wrote most of the New Testament, and that had a lasting effect. He was undeniably influential, and certainly essential.

How is Peter important? He was the chief of the Apostles, and was given pre-eminence throughout the early Church, as is clear just from a reading of the New Testament. He was the first Pope, the guardian of the deposit of faith. The Christian Church was founded upon him, as Christ himself says in the Gospel of Matthew. He was undeniably influential, and certainly essential. He wrote less; but that’s not the only measure of a man’s influence.

I used the metaphor of the heart and lungs above; and it’s like that with Peter and Paul. You need both…as the Church recognizes. July 29th in the calendar of saints is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. They are always celebrated together.

Oh, and Mary? Without Mary, no Christmas. Without Christmas, no Easter. Without Easter, no Peter and no Paul.

* I paraphrase; and I’ve no idea whether this is what the teacher actually said, or whether it’s simply what my son understood.