Third Reflection on the Painting of the Meeting of St Peter and St Paul

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David, as preached in my gospel, the gospel for which I am suffering and wearing fetters like a criminal. But the word of God is not fettered.

2 Timothy 2:8–9

Although it largely follows the traditional iconography of the final meeting between Saints Peter and Paul, in this painting the two apostles are unable to embrace one another because their hands are bound. It is noteworthy that, whereas Peter’s hands are fastened with chains, Paul’s are bound with a rope—perhaps a distinction introduced by the artist to reflect the fact that Paul was a Roman citizen, while Peter was not. Beyond this difference, Paul refers several times in his letters to himself as one who is in chains.

The chains bear witness to the loss of freedom that prevented these apostles from continuing their mission of proclaiming the Word. At the same time, there is the awareness that they wear these chains because of the Lord. Thus, paradoxically, the chains become a sign of Christian freedom. It is no coincidence that, at the beginning of his Letter to the Philippians, Saint Polycarp writes that chains are “the fitting ornaments of saints, and which are indeed the diadems of the true elect of God and our Lord.” (Epistola ad Philippenses, 1).

There is a contrast between the chains of slavery and the chains that are the consequence of a profoundly free choice. In the modern age, with its strong emphasis on freedom and autonomy, the words of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau acquire a prophetic force: “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”

While I pray for those who are deprived of their freedom because of their faith, the chains of Peter and Paul make me ask about what enslaves me most deeply, what robs me of freedom, what keeps me confined and unable to move forward. I pray for the grace that this very reality may become a source of liberation and a place where I experience the grace of God at work in my life.