Many years ago, there was a huge oil refinery fire. Flames shot hundreds of feet into the air. The sky was thick with grimy, black smoke. The heat was intense—so intense that firefighters had to park their trucks a block away and wait for the heat to die down before they could begin to fight the fire. However, it was about to rage out of control.

Then all of a sudden, from several blocks away came a fire truck, racing down the street with its brakes screeching. It hit the curb in front of the fire. The firefighters jumped out and began to battle the blaze. All the firefighters who were parked a block away saw this, and they jumped into their trucks, drove down the block, and began to fight the fire, too. As a result of that cooperative effort, they were just barely able to bring the fire under control.

The people who saw this teamwork thought, “My goodness, the man who drove that lead truck—what an act of bravery!” They decided to give him a special award to recognize him for his bravery in leading the charge.

At the ceremony the mayor said, “Captain, we want to honor you for a fantastic act of bravery. You prevented the loss of property—perhaps even the loss of life. If there is one special thing you could have—just about anything—what would it be?”

Without hesitation, the captain replied, “Your honor, a new set of brakes would be dandy!”

Today’s celebration is a feast of leadership. The two great apostles, Peter and Paul, are honored together for two reasons. First, they were tremendously committed to giving witness to their faith, to carrying on the mission of Jesus, and to building up the early church community. The second reason is that both happened to die in Rome, the capital of the Empire, the place that would become the center for the universal church.

But there’s more to the story. Both Peter and Paul felt a bit like the firefighter who asked for a new set of brakes. Both Peter and Paul would say that they do not deserve the honor being paid them.

Peter, you may recall, lost his courage on the night Jesus was arrested and taken into custody. Just as Jesus had predicted, Peter denied even knowing him, not once, but three times. After the resurrection, Jesus asked Peter, three times, do you love me—once for each denial. Peter declared his love, and was given the mission of tending Jesus’ flock. And even though Peter became a great leader, he never got over his sense of unworthiness. Tradition has it that, when it was time for him to be crucified, he asked to be crucified upside down—unworthy of a crucifixion exactly like the Lord’s.

Paul was the great missionary of the early church. He went on three long journeys, proclaiming the message to all who would hear, bringing about many conversions to the faith. And yet, Paul never forgot that, before this, he had been a persecutor of Jesus’ followers, considering them heretics. As an illustrious Pharisee, Paul wrote that he prided himself for being more zealous than the others. He had the power to imprison, and even put to death, those who were followers of Jesus Christ. And so, even though he was dramatically chosen by the risen Lord for his new mission, he never forgot that he had been an enemy of the gospel.

In the story I began with, the noble firefighter was humble enough to admit that he became a hero due to faulty brakes. In a similar way, even though Peter and Paul rose to the top, they never lost touch with their shortcomings. That made them humble, human and compassionate. Like Jesus, they were servant leaders.

What a great lesson, leaders who can admit that they are less than perfect. Leaders who can dispense forgiveness because they know they need forgiveness themselves.

And I think there’s a lesson in this for all of us. Many years ago, Pope Saint Paul VI stated that people are attracted to witnesses more than to teachers. And if they are attracted to teachers, it is because they are witnesses as well. Each of us has the ability to influence others, not necessarily in extravagant ways. Our influence comes from the fact that we care, that we have compassion, that we’re willing to lend an ear, or lend a hand. We don’t have to be perfect to make a difference. Peter and Paul weren’t perfect, but Jesus chose them anyway.