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”
As a volunteer crew member on Delaware's Tall Ship, the Kalmar Nyckel, I had to vote for Peter, the patron saint of ship builders.
My father's name was Paul, my middle name is Paul and my second son's middle name is Paul. But No. 1 son is Peter and his best friend in grammar school is Andrew. I voted for Peter. Would there have been an early church without him? True enough, Paul's writings (whoever wrote them) spread the Gospel around the Empire. But a lot of his teaching has been interpreted in ways that allow mistreatment of others especially women. If he wants my vote he is going to have to clarify himself.
peter is a savage vote him
Tough choice, SEC!
I vote for Peter. Here's why. A friend does wonderful Ignatian Quiet Days. Using guided meditation, she asked us to consider the time Jesus asked Peter and the fishermen with him to put out again. As I imagined Peter listening to the request, he said to himself: All I want to do is go home, have a hot shower, and a jug of wine and a long nap. And this guy wants me to put out in the middle of the morning??
So often we think, or are taught, that Peter was impetuous. My imagination saw him as thoughtful, and fully human.
For three days Paul was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. After his vision was restored he turned his life around. Paul has my vote!
Thanks to the celebrity bloggers and all you commenters as well, especially including Oliver! I always read all the comments before recording my vote. This time it didn't change, but I enjoyed reading them, and feel so blessed to be a Methodist in this wonderful Episcopal community! God bless you all and give you a joyful Lent and Eastertide.
Paul deserves all lauds for his inclusiveness, and some of the more troublesome epistles that are attributed to him may not have been written by him at all. However, Peter's always been my favorite, maybe because of his foibles, and I have to go with him.
Newfoundlander. Surrounded by water, for my fisher ancestors as well as those who made their nets - had to vote for Peter. But more seriously, I appreciate Peter's foot in mouth and impulsiveness, stumblings, the sheer humanity of his story. Also if Paul had been a bit more understanding of women and our callings and gifts to the church (not to mention his homophobia) I might have been a bit more understanding.
I voted for Peter for a couple of reasons. First, I, too, love the way he is depicted as utterly human, and therefore prone to make mistakes, in the Gospels. It makes me feel closer to him. Secondly, my brother is named Peter (though he goes by Carl), my father was named Peter, my Grandfather was named Peter.....
Nonetheless, this was a tough vote for me because I have developed a real respect for Paul over the last several years. He used to leave me pretty cold because of his attitude toward women, etc., but I've come to the conclusion that as a man of his milieu, it was a logical position to hold. And we must remember all of these saints are primarily human beings belonging to a particular time and place. And so much of his writing is so loving and at the same time so thought-provoking! I always love reading from his letters on church on Sunday. He has such a distinct voice.
I have always felt that when Jesus nicknamed Simeon "Rocky," he had his tongue firmly in cheek, with the hope that impetuous, impulsive Peter would grow into it--as, according to tradition, he did. I recognize that there are good reasons for voting for Peter. But Paul has shaped my theology for years, and I am deeply grateful to him. (Whatever else Peter was, he was not a theologian.)
The genuine Paul was not misogynist. The misogynist passages attributed to him are the product of later writers, including the few that are interpolated into his genuine letters. The business about women covering their heads when prophesying and praying is probably genuine Paul, but note that it doesn't occur to him that women shouldn't be praying and prophesying on the same basis as men, just that they should cover their heads. And when he tries to explain why, he ties himself up in knots and ends up saying "Because we've always done it that way." The first Episcopalian?
Paul expected the world to end next Tuesday, so these distinctions--male/female, Jew/Greek, slave/free, young/old, native/undocumented, black/white, straight/gay/trans--are utterly trivial and should be ignored by Christians, who should treat everyone with love. He didn't think there was time to attack the systems supporting these distinctions. While he was clearly wrong about that, his analysis is ever more applicable to our polarized world today.
I agree totally with your views! You expressed them as I would if I had your gift of eloquence!!
This match-up in the first round shows that these brackets should be seeded. Peter v. Paul? That's got to be a Faithful Four race.
Absolutely! You don’t put 2 number 1 seeds against each other in the first round !
Enjoying Lenten Madness online, but I signed up to receive Lenten Madness via email. Nothing in my inbox today. A friend is having the same experience. What’s up with that?
What a start to the Madness! How can we choose? But - "Look to the rock" and the answer's Peter.
Can I vote for Oliver instead of choosing between Peter and Paul?????
I guess not... well then, Peter it is. He may be goofy and impulsive but he demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.
What a strong way to start out this Lent Madness! I really had to think about my answer, and therefore consider these two giants more carefully than before. Thank you!
I voted for Paul, the guy no one ever thought would follow Christ. God does amazing thing, doesn't he?
(And, welcome back, Oliver!)
My vote is for Paul for his inclusion. Also, I suspect that his struggle with the flesh is about his own homosexuality that there was no way he could embrace at that time in history.
I also suspect that the negative writings about women are later additions.
I love the madness of lentmadness.
Blessings
I am not happy with the seeding. Peter and Paul should be ranked #1 and #2 and be one at the top and the other at the bottom of the rankings. Had to go with Peter as I have worn his shoes too many times.
I had to go with Peter. Fishermen and boatbuilders in my ancestry. But mostly it's the "rock" designation. Those who are steady and responsible are often called rocks, and (pardon the awful pun) are sometimes taken for "granite".
A little late getting started today but absolutely thrilled to have seen Oliver starting off the comments. As flaw filled, stumbling and forgiven, Peter is my man today, but as should have been expected, a tug of war between Paul and Peter didn't make this an easy choice. So happy the Madness has once again commenced!
I went back and forth on this one because I appreciate both of these Apostles. Peter finally won my vote because I can best relate to him - failures, forgiveness, and restoration.
I vote for Peter. Not just because he is my namesake. I find Peter to be model of humility. Paul is too zealous. Peter seems to have a gentle side. If find him to be more approachable. Paul sense very black and white in his thinking - a bit to arbitrary. I'd like to have a beer with Peter.
Fishermen and boatbuilders in my Norsk ancestry as well but got to go with Paul as the man of the times, preaching the transformation of God's grace of which I am an unworthy and humble recipient and breaking down the walls of social distinction which so separate brother from brother in these days and times. Go Paul!!!
I just had to vote for Paul. He wrote a majority of the New Testement and argued with Peter to include Gentiles in the early church. The book of Romans and 1 & 2 Corinthians have done so much for me I feel almost indebted to vote for Paul.
Has there ever been a tie? I assume the SEC has a method for determining a winner in the event of a tie. Perhaps a controversial coin flip?
My husband, Paul, and I have been married almost 65 years. I must vote for Paul!
What a gut-wrenching choice! I had to vote for Paul. From persecutor to evangelist through a massive conversion event. I know that Paul stood on the shoulders of Peter (as a Catholic I am a believer in apostolic succession), but Paul's persistent efforts for gentile conversion nudges out Peter in my heart by a sliver .
Evil decision as always as I visited the churches where both are buried over Christmas, but I ultimately had to go with Paul because of a personal experience of grace in the last few weeks, as well as his profound impact on the Church. Peter’s witnessed after denying Christ gives me strength though.
This was a toughie. I was leaning toward Paul because of his conversion, but then went with Peter. Peter walked the road with Jesus and Loved him dearly. Peter shows me how to accept forgiveness with humility and sincerity; to learn the lesson and move on.
I forwarded today's email to my church yahoo group to let them know about Lent Madness. I said: "The first match up (below) shows they don’t seed the saints the way the NCAA does." I mean this match up is like Villanova vs Virginia in the round of 64. What's up with that? Where are the patsy saints that the big ones can slay in the first 5 minutes so they can save their strength for the truly hard matches. Plus that allows for David vs Goliath matches where the improbable saint topples one of the big powerhouses (like Peter, Paul, John, John the Baptist, etc.). Another problem with the seeding is that this choice is hard. Having just gone to church yesterday (on a WEDNESDAY), why do I have to work this hard to discern the top saint? I thought our God was merciful. 🙂