The Rev’d Lucy Nguyen

St Peter and St Paul June 29 Apostles, Martyrs

Readings: Acts 12:1-11 | 2 Timothy 4:6-8 | Matthew 16:13-19

Today we recognise St Peter and St Paul together.

Each saint is commemorated individually on separate days.

Peter on account of his confession to Jesus, which we heard in this morning’s Gospel – Jesus asks, “who do you say that I am?” and Peter confesses, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt16:16) is celebrated on the 22nd of February.
While early on Peter, does get many things wrong, after the resurrection he grows quickly in importance as a leader of the Twelve. After Pentecost, he risks imprisonment and death speaking out boldly in the name of Jesus, becoming one of the pillars of the church, the rock whose strength and courage sustained the young church as it felt its way beyond the boundaries of the Jewish community. (Gal 2:9)

And Paul, his personal day is on account of his conversion marked on the 25th of January.
As you may recall, the apostle Paul began his life as Saul, the son of a free-born Jewish father who was also a Roman citizen. In this adherence to the tradition of the Pharisees, Saul (Paul) displayed outstanding zeal. He was convinced that what was required of Israel was total commitment to the Law and the covenant with God to be faithfully honoured in purity and holiness.

This belief led Saul to the conviction that he should do everything possible to persecute the followers of Jesus as deviants from the call of Israel. Within and beyond Jerusalem, he was diligent in having many Christians imprisoned, and at times cast his vote for the death sentence.

However, everything changed for Saul/Paul in Damascus – with the restoration of his site and the calling to now be a witness for Jesus and an apostle to the Gentiles. In his conversion he saw in a new way the inexplicable fearlessness of the Christians he’d captured. He saw God’s grace far broader than he had ever imagined. He came to see and believe that God had visited Israel for redemption, not in a demand for ritual purity, but in grace and love that fulfilled the Law. Through faith, Jew and Gentile alike had access to what God in Christ had done. The zealous Pharisee had become the passionate apostle.

Together they are commemorated on the Sunday closest to the 29th of June because of their martyrdom in Rome during the Neronian persecution about 64 CE.
While many others were also involved in the preaching of the gospel, it is Peter and Paul who dominate the Acts of the Apostles.

What they each did in different ways was (as one writer puts it) expend themselves in the mission of the church, which they saw extend from Jerusalem to most of the major cities around the Mediterranean by the middle of the first century, martyrdom.

What do we do with this commemoration of two men “expending” themselves for Jesus? How do we process for ourselves and share this understanding of being rooted in Christ’s ultimate sacrifice, of being called as believers to pour out our time, resources, and very lives for the Gospel? There can be so many “trigger” words in this conversation.

Thankfully, there is ongoing conversation for us to link into. With contemporary theologians and spiritual leaders, we can in our time see this theology of expending oneself for God through several ancient and meaningful interconnected frameworks:

Firstly, we have, the framework or lifestyle of kenosis, of self-emptying. The foundational text for self-emptying is found in Philippians 2:7, where St. Paul describes Christ as “emptying himself” (in Greek, kenōsis) by taking the form of a servant.

Modern theology frames this as the voluntary surrender of personal ambition, wealth, and self-interest. Instead of using life for personal gain, Christians are called to expend their God-given gifts to elevate others.

While physical, blood martyrdom defined the early Church, contemporary theology expands the ancient Greek noun “Martus” to meaning “witness by living a life faithful to daily Christian life.

Do not freak out or perhaps worse do not tune out, when we use phrases like “dying to self” or as St. Paul again famously wrote, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for you” (2 Corinthians 12:15).

We, in the company of both historical and contemporary spiritual writers equate this to the daily choices of putting aside pride, forgiving offenses, and prioritizing God’s mission. This we can talk about!

Present day theology directly challenges “Christianized materialism” or prosperity gospels. It insists that our resources, time, and life energy are our tools for glorifying God and aiding the vulnerable. We need to speak and live into the shift from accumulating wealth or status to self-expenditure for the salvation of souls and the building of the Church. And yes, we need to unpack for ourselves and others what we mean the church. It may mean raising for a building, but we need to be sure the building is for a purpose something greater than itself … we need to be clearer and demonstrably know and show the WHY of the church as a building. Church can also be seen and known as People doing Good Works – the CHURCH in the world feeding, caring, counselling, caring for creation ….

Applying the theology of total self-expenditure to modern life requires shifting from the literal execution faced by Peter and Paul to a “daily, slow martyrdom” of the will.

In a modern language: expending oneself for God means transforming everyday choices, career tracks, and relationships into acts of sacrificial love

I did a bit of reading around for us and here some ways contemporary theology may be applied to modern vocations and daily life. Open for discussion and reflection …

Reclaiming “Vocation” as Discipleship
In modern culture, a career is often viewed as a ladder for personal advancement, wealth, or status.

Contemporary theology reclaims the word vocation (from the Latin vocare, meaning “to call”) as a summons to serve God through one’s unique placement in the world.

In Corporate and Professional Life
Expending oneself means prioritising ethical integrity over profit, mentoring younger colleagues, and fighting for justice within institutions, even when it costs promotions or social standing.

In Everyday Work
It reframes routine tasks—whether fixing a car, writing code, or teaching—as a direct offering to God, done with excellence for the benefit of others rather than self-glory.

The Sacrificial Economy of Time and Presence
The scarcest resource in modern society is not money, but time and attention. Expending oneself today requires a deliberate resistance to hyper-individualism and digital distraction.

Radical Availability
Just as Paul travelled relentlessly to build up communities, modern self-expenditure involves being radically available to people in crisis, isolated neighbours, or family members.

Intentional Presence
It means putting down devices to deeply listen to someone, offering the “sacrifice of presence” in a world that suffers from extreme loneliness.

Domestic and Lay Martyrdom
For most people, the calling is not to monastic life or physical martyrdom, but to the “domestic church” (the home) and the local community.

Parenting and Family Care
The daily, unseen sacrifices of raising children, caring for elderly parents, or supporting a spouse are modern forms of pouring oneself out. It is a literal expending of sleep, energy, and personal freedom for the sake of another.

Community Solidarity
It looks like investing deeply in a local church or neighbourhood—cooking meals for the sick, volunteering, and absorbing the emotional weight of others’ burdens.

Overcoming the “Burnout” vs. “Expenditure” Paradox
A critical distinction in contemporary theology is the difference between holy self-expenditure and unhealthy burnout.

Driven by Grace, Not Guilt
Burnout often happens when someone works out of a desire for human approval or toxic perfectionism.

Sustained by Prayer
We believe theological expenditure, modelled by Peter and Paul, is fuelled by the Holy Spirit. It recognises human limits and builds in rhythms of rest (Sabbath) so that the pouring out comes from a cup that is constantly being refilled by God.

We need, as community and individuals, spiritual disciplines / practices (like fasting, silence, and sabbath) that sustain this lifestyle. It’s never too late to learn them however the earlier we do the easier life is with them. We need to expose our families to these practices in ways that are invitational and life giving. Not as punishment or threat.

We can do this by drawing from writings from modern theologians who have lived/are living this out. This sort of work is often done together outside a Sunday service in Home Groups and Book Groups and Prayer Groups – I suggest some of us might be searching right now for such a group and my prayer is that we through All Saints Anglican Howick can meet you or link you into such a group.

Together we can deeply flesh out the theology and living of self-expenditure. Together we can transform abstract theological concepts into consequential, practical mandates for daily life—are you ready to join, Peter, Paul, and Mary too our foundational figures of the early Christian Church?

Let’s do it together.