The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle

The Collect

Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Psalm

23

The Readings

Acts 4:8-13     +     I Peter 5:1-4     +     Matthew 16:13-19

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus.

~Acts 4:13

Since early in the 20th century, the eight days between the feasts of the Confession of St. Peter (Jan. 18) and the Conversion of St. Paul (Jan. 25) have been observed as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Despite Jesus' prayer "that they may be one" as he and the Father are one, "so that the world may believe" (John 17:20-23), we Christians have been finding ways to divide ourselves from one another right from the start. Though the last century saw many encouraging and remarkable gains in ecumenical relationships, in many ways the obstacles to unity among Christians of different denominations seem as great as ever. From disagreements over substantive issues to petty but stubborn squabbles, I find it easy to get discouraged. But I also try not to let that discouragement result in me simply throwing up my hands or convincing myself that unity just isn't important. So long as Christians fight one another in bitterness, we ourselves present an obstacle to the spread of the gospel. A divided church will always be a scandal to the world--a fact of which we Christians in America might particularly need to be reminded, with our near constant multiplication of churches by division, in a culture permeated with individualism.    

Working for unity among the churches is hard. To seek understanding and agreement without abandoning core convictions is a difficult task that demands patience and dedication. It will certainly not happen without prayer. So pray for the unity of the whole church of God, whatever that unity may look like. Probably many of us need to begin by praying simply for the desire for unity. And with such prayer, seek to stay always close to Jesus. If there is hope for unity among Christians, it lies first and foremost in our proximity to the one Lord we all confess. If our great desire is to draw near to Christ, than we will find ourselves in the company of others who share that desire, and "recognize them as companions of Jesus." And that is more than a good beginning.   

Closing Prayer

Almighty Father, whose blessed Son before his passion prayed for his disciples that they might be one, as you and he are one: Grant that your Church, being bound together in love and obedience to you, may be united in one body by the one Spirit, that the world may believe in him whom you have sent, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

~from the Book of Common Prayer, p. 255