Peter, Paul, and pride

Sermon by Pr. Craig Mueller on Peter and Paul, Apostles + Sunday, June 29, 2025

I’m so proud of you. When you’re a kid—or an adult—you long to hear those words from a parent, a teacher, a coach. Too often what we feel is shame. That we’re not good enough. Smart enough. Attractive enough. Talented enough.

Coming out to parents is an act of courage few can understand if they haven’t been there. I’ve heard many stories over the years. Sometimes stories of acceptance. Other painful stories. “We love you but we cannot come to the wedding. We love you but we can’t endorse your lifestyle. Variations of: love the sinner, hate the sin.

“From Shame to Pride” is a phrase sometimes used in the LGBTQ+ community. The Pride Parade is a major celebratory event in our Lakeview neighborhood, known for tolerance and diversity. We are proud that Holy Trinity is a welcoming church. There are two organizations that receive thunderous applause during the parade: the contingent of welcoming churches and PFLAG, the original acronym standing for “parents and friends of lesbians and gays.” The cheering for these two groups is very moving. Clearly many at the parade have known parents and religions that have been anything but welcoming and accepting.

The colors of pride are the colors of the rainbow. The liturgical color today is scarlet, the color of blood and martyrs. It is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Or we could say that today is all about Peter, Paul, and Pride.

It's odd that Peter and Paul are commemorated together. They were both martyrs. And at one point they were bitter opponents. One thing is clear: Peter and Paul took great pride in their faith as the Jesus movement was emerging.

Though Peter and Paul are preeminent among the apostles, like all of us, they had their faults and foibles. Impetuous Peter talks before he thinks and when the going gets tough, even denies that he ever knew Jesus. There are some who find Paul appalling—pun intended—because of his unflattering statements about women and homosexuals. Reflecting his culture and context, of course. Some would say he had a prideful self that seems arrogant at times. Yet in Christ Paul found grace and mercy, a true life-changer for him.

We know how the Bible is often used to clobber sexual minorities. But on Pride Sunday I want to hold up passages about both Peter and Paul that are inclusive, and even radical. Last week we heard words from Galatians that could not better reflect God’s wide welcome. There is no longer Jew or Greek. There is no longer slave or free. There is no longer male or female. For all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

And then there’s that fascinating, weird and wonderful story in Acts. The controversy of the day wasn’t trans people, or the issue from the 2000s, gay marriage. It was whether the message of Jesus wasn’t just for Jews, but also for Gentiles, who were considered unclean.

Peter has a vision in which a sheet comes down from heaven, with all kinds of birds and beasts on it. When God tells him to kill and eat, Peter is shocked and says, “I’ve never eaten anything profane or unclean.” And then the voice of God sets him straight: “What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane.”

But it wasn’t about the food. Peter realized it was about the people.” This amazing story in Acts has led many devout Christians to do some deep soul-searching about LGBTQ people. Many were taught that such people need to change to be part of the body of Christ. But then something dawns on them—through reading, through prayer, and through knowing and talking to queer people. They come to realize that God has created humans in wonderful diversity and the people in question are whole as they are. What God has created and called good, who are we to call profane?

In his own way and in his own time, Paul fights the good fight, finishes the race, keeps the faith. And in response to his love for Jesus, Peter is commissioned to feed and tend the sheep in God’s flock. They are both examples to us.

And we can be proud of Peter and Paul. Even if we are not so proud of how Christianity is portrayed these days. Especially by those with political power. As we approach Independence Day, we can love our country and be proud of it—yet tells its history honestly. And acknowledge the ways that minorities and marginalized people have been hurt and even killed over the past centuries.

No wonder the gospel is always shocking. You are God’s pride and joy. You are loved simply for being you. Whatever your skin color or background. Whatever your gender or who you love. Whatever your age or ability. Whatever your faith or lack thereof. However prideful or insecure you are. God cherishes you.

We are proud of this church and its message of welcome and acceptance. But the journey isn’t done. The work isn’t over. Rights are threatened. Hatred still abounds.

Let us not forget that we take pride in some pretty and strange and countercultural things. Values and attitudes that seem at odds with the world. In the parade in this space, we follow a cross, a stark reminder that the path to new life includes struggle, surrender, and sometimes suffering for the sake of our values and faith. Peter and Paul lead the way.

Peter, Paul and pride. Here in this place, God takes pride in you. And takes pride in a world created with extraordinary and beautiful diversity.