Lent Madness 2018 has officially begun! After months of soul-aching anticipation, “Ash 
Thursday” has arrived. Over the next (more or less) 40 days and 40 nights, you will have the opportunity to re-immortalize one of our 32 competing saints with the coveted Golden Halo.
Today we see two heavyweights facing off in the Apostolic Rumble. Will we rob Peter to pay Paul or will Paul get robbed to pay Peter? That, dear friends, is up to you and your single (we mean that and we have spies everywhere) vote.
If you’re new to Lent Madness, welcome! If you have any questions about how to participate, just let us know by leaving a comment. The Lent Madness community is both friendly and helpful, often answering questions before the Supreme Executive Committee arrives in their grand purple, if imaginary, chariot. You can view and/or print out the full bracket of saints by clicking here.
We urge you to take full part in the Madness. Leave comments here on the website. Read what others have to say. Enjoy the friendly rivalry and trash talk on social media. Do additional research. During the day, check in on the website often to see how each day’s contest is going. And above all, delight in seeing how each saint was a powerful witness of Jesus Christ.
Be sure to sign up for e-mail updates on our home page (upper right corner) so you never miss a vote, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and encourage your friends to jump into the fray.
We can assure you this will be a wild, joyful, educational, ocassionally gut-wrenching ride. We’re delighted to share this journey with you. Let the Madness begin!
Peter
The disciple who makes us all feel better about our failures, Saint Peter was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Peter is traditionally considered the first bishop of Rome—or pope—having been ordained by Jesus who dubs him the “rock of the church.” Originally, Peter was named Simeon, often simplified to Simon in modern English. Peter was married and originally worked as a fisherman with his brother, Andrew. In fact, Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus and gave him the name Cephas (Peter), which means rock.
Peter was a leader among the disciples and witnessed events seen by only a few apostles, such as the Transfiguration and the raising of Jairus’s daughter. According to the gospels, Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, then denied knowing Jesus three times under threat of arrest, and then felt shame and remorse over his betrayal. After Easter, Jesus forgave him his failure and implored Peter to “feed my sheep.”
At the start of the Acts of the Apostles, Peter emerges as an effective leader of the early church. He preached with authority at Pentecost, began to work miracles, and participated in the council at Jerusalem. Historical witnesses confirm his later presence in Rome, although they do not verify the legendary story of his martyrdom. According to this tradition, under Emperor Nero, Peter was crucified upside down. He requested this unusual method of execution out of humility, not wanting to be killed in the same manner as Jesus. Hence, in Christian symbology, Peter is often represented by an upside-down cross, along with the keys to God’s kingdom. The Vatican claims Peter’s remains are housed beneath Saint Peter’s Basilica.
St. Peter’s feast day is June 29, and he is the patron of fishermen, net makers, and shipbuilders.
Collect for Peter
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.
Paul
Behind Jesus Christ himself, perhaps no person has shaped the face of Christianity more than Paul of Tarsus—the pharisaic persecutor of the church turned apostle and the primary writer for a majority of the New Testament.
Paul, as an ardent and educated Pharisee, was dedicated to what (at Jesus’ time) was a somewhat new belief—that the law given in Torah could be applied to everyday activities to sanctify the course of ordinary life. As such, Paul’s early interactions with followers of Jesus were as a persecutor, seeking to restore the norms of pharisaic dogma to the followers of the sect known as “The Way.” But Paul underwent a dramatic conversion experience along the Damascus road. He saw Jesus, who addressed him by his Hebrew name, asking “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Blinded by this vision, Paul’s sight was restored by Ananias, and a transformative ministry began.
Paul’s message in his epistles speaks to the transformative power of God’s grace, revealed in Jesus, crucified and risen from the dead. Having experienced grace in his conversion, Paul argues that the grace of God is extended to all—Jew and Gentile alike. As he writes in the Epistle to the Galatians, social distinction must break down when all become part of the body of Christ: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” As the Apostle to the Gentiles, he was at times in direct and fierce conflict with Peter; Paul argued with Peter for the inclusion of Gentiles in the table fellowship of the earliest church. Using the privileges Roman citizenship afforded him, Paul traveled widely to preach the gospel: His journeys took him across the Middle East, Asia Minor, and eventually to captivity in Rome. Paul died in Rome, still longing to travel to more communities with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Collect for Paul
O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
UPDATE: At 7:58 p.m. Eastern time, the SEC removed 254 votes from Paul. We found that someone in Little Rock, AR had voted for Paul repeatedly. This is a reminder that you should vote -- and tell your friends to vote -- but once only.
[poll id="205"]
496 comments on “Peter vs. Paul”
What a terrible choice to have to make as we begin. I voted for Paul, even though I have rarely appreciated his dogmatism about women's leadership roles in faith communities. He got my vote because of his idea that Grace is extended to all...those who live on the other side of the wall, those whose color is different than mine, and even to those whose political views seem the antithesis of faithful. He reminds me of the One I try to follow.
Paul was an Outsider who is a role model of self-examination (what church still needs) and being humble enough to make an 180 deg turn regarding his christian-ism. He confronted the early church's hierarchy about their exclusion of gentiles from God's dream for church. Yes, he could have gone further for women, but he pushed exclusivity more than anyone else was doing back then.
I cannot turn my back on Peter, who while a flawed human (but aren't we all?), is a shining example of how we can all learn from our mistakes and still have the love of the Father. Besides, how could a sailor say no to the patron saint of shipbuilders?
In honor of St. Peter's in the Mountains, I vote for Peter.
I'm with Oliver on this one. Plus, as a geologist, I understand the strength of a rock. . .
Ah, but what KIND of rock? Shale? Chalk? Granite? We've got a lot of soft, permeable sandstone around here, melts when it gets wet...
Well this happened at Caesarea Philippi where the biggest rock around is part of Mt, Hermon -- pretty solid I'd say.
A very tough vote today. I would have been glad to see one of these guys crowned with the Silver Halo, patting the shoulder of the other sporting his new Golden Halo. My gut says Peter will win; my heart says vote for Paul. Thank God for the light each provides our aching world.
Who was the crazy person(s) who had Peter & Paul face off in the very 1st round? Such heavy weights should have been on opposite sides of the brackets!
Paul all day. Peter seemed too impulsive and chatty. Paul was flawed but a good example of both how God can transform us and how God can do great things with us even though we're sometimes a hot mess. Besides, Paul is the patron of my parish so...
Peter reminds me of me...a flawed, klutzy person who survives despite him/herself! Praise for the clumsy people of the world, and I am one!
In love with his Lord, even when he totally gets it wrong? Who else but Peter.
This was an incredibly difficult decision...and it's only Ash Thursday! I love Peter. I love his outbursts and moments of brilliance, his all-too-human flaws and the scene on the beach with Jesus at the end of John's Gospel as well as his preaching at the beginning of Acts are among the most hopeful stories in the New Testament. But Paul's conversion in Acts 9 is a powerful statement of conversion and God's ability to reconcile bitter enemies (Ananis and Saul). And Paul reminds us in the letter to the Romans that there is nothing--absolutely nothing--that separates us from the love of God. The more I have read and learned, the more I realize that Paul has gotten a really bad rap and we project a lot on to the man. I won't be disappointed whichever way this vote goes, but today, I'm siding with Paul.
That perfectly sums up my own thoughts
I love Paul’s story. To think that he once killed Christians only to become one of them. His story demonstrates the truth that we are not lost even when we commit bad crimes.
I voted for Peter since he interacted with Jesus whereas Paul worked under his own theory/revelation and basically took over Christianity in the long term
Peter. All the way. Peter walked on water, twice. After all, they had to get back into the boat.
It’s a close race! Peter for me, mostly as his story is so meaningful for those of us who fall short sometimes.
Plus some of Paul’s words are still used today to discriminate against women and people who are gay.
I actually have Peter in my bracket, but this song about Paul is going through my head https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMNbxHqdKCQ
Thanks. I shared the link on my Facebook page.
Seriously?! A #1 and #2 seed go against each other on the first round? Better Peter versus Voldemort or Paul vs. Swithin of the Swamp! I appeal to the Grand Executive Council poobahs. Bring back the loser of this round, for, perhaps a double elimination format! We are a people of redemption. The NCAA is not!
I bet you that regardless of who wins, they will not make it past their opponent in the next round.
It's Paul for me, though they both deserve golden halos. How are you going to top this matchup?? And by the way, Paul did NOT intend any discrimination against women. He said over and over that ALL were alike in God's sight. Many, mostly? women headed his house churches and he gives thanks for them often. The idea that he was a woman-hater is seriously antiquated theology.
...read Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better by Pema Chodren recently, so gotta follow that flow toward Peter. Although, I also recognize that transformative grace is embedded in this sometimes painful process of missing the easiest of play in the game.
Peter is the penultimate everyman (or woman) -- Paul's reputation precedes him, and while he may be the more intelligent (or educated) of the two, Peter shows time and again how God uses our weaknesses as well as our strengths.
Hard choice! Went with Peter because he "messed up" and repented. True for all!
I voted for Paul. I'm in year 2 of EfM and reading the epistles. I need all the help I can get understanding them.
Stick with it. As you go on in EfM, much will become clearer. "Now I see dimly, but then I shall see clearly." (Translation by me). Understanding will eventually come, even when you don't think you agree with Paul. It took him a while too. Blessings.
I had to vote for Paul, even though I identify with Peter's humanity. Peter makes me laugh and helps me get a sense of what it would have been like to be there then.
But, after a life of being angry with Paul and the ways the church has used his statements, I have had a transformation of my perspective. Our Bp is facebooking the parishes he visits and I am amazed at the diversity of concerns, congregations, liturgies, and communities in our diocese. I can only imagine the letters and conversations Bp John might be having with the vestries of these parishes, and how they could be misconstrued if not contextualized in the lived experience of each community. Paul did not leave a digital footprint for us to piece the whole story together so we use what he wrote in our own situations, sometimes with oppressive results.
My vote is for compassion as we all work in our own ways in our own places and times to bring about the kingdom of God on earth.
Good point!
Ay, what a choice. The Blind Faith of the Rock, vs the misogynistic prognostications of the Great Lion of God. As much as I appreciate Paul's extension of the New Teachings to the gentiles, whenever we have to endure his endless Epistles in services, I cringe at his theology. So in the end, I chose the Rock upon which the church was built, and against which the gates of Hell have yet to prevail.
Paul argues that the grace of God is extended to Jew and Gentile alike.
It's a toss up
Peter, he is the rock
As a journalist I have to vote for Paul and his letters although I'm sure Peter would have been easier to be around. But what a way to start! Throw us into the deep end right away. Oh and Hi Oliver.
I'm with Paul, too, because of his dramatic conversion. Sometimes it takes a knock up side the head to get our attention! Have a blessed day, my Lent Madness buddy!
I thought this would be easy, because (like so many others today) I am so encouraged by Peters cluelessness. He really didn’t get it so often. It gives me hope. And Paul can be an arrogant jerk. But Paul’s message of inclusion and welcome is so important. So I think - after many years of struggling with him, I have to vote for Paul. The Lord moves in mysterious ways!
Surprised myself by voting for Paul. It was his inclusive message.