Peter

Peter is a gift to us. He was a disciple who made every mistake in the book, but who never gave up. And Peter became one of the greatest leaders in the church, despite all of his mistakes.

I bought an icon for my husband a few years ago. It is an icon of Peter. I had never seen one like it. I love the image because Peter is so strong. He has grey hair and lots of it. His beard looks unkempt. His face is weathered and brown. He looks like a big man who spent all his time outside and never once looked in a mirror. Though his hands are not depicted, I can just picture them: callused and brown from years of hauling in nets. I always pictured Peter as a large man, strong and worn by rough living. Peter was a man who could not be ignored. He took up some serious space.

I love how Peter develops. To watch Peter change and grow is to see how one man's life can be transformed by knowing the resurrected Christ. You see, before the resurrection, Peter thought he knew how to be a disciple. After all, he hit the nail on the head by recognizing that Jesus was the Messiah. But he messed up so much! He refused to believe that Jesus should suffer at all. Jesus actually says to him, "Get behind me, Satan!"

Being reprimanded like that by Jesus would have sent me running with my tail between my legs. But not Peter. He does not run. Peter sticks it out.

When Jesus transfigured before him and turned dazzling white, Peter spoils the moment. Instead of listening and just experiencing the moment, Peter decided that it was time to make three booths and he is so distracted by his project that God has to reprimand him. He won't stop talking! I think Peter must have been an extreme extrovert. Almighty God has to speak to Peter from out of the cloud and tell him to listen!

Peter is sure that he would never deny his Lord. But when the rubber hits the road and Jesus is captured, Peter denies him three times, lying and saying that he does not know his own teacher. Peter gives in to fear and denies that he even knows Jesus.

After all of those mistakes, I would have run away, but Peter does not run. He mourns and returns to the tomb and witnesses the resurrection. And when Peter realizes that Jesus is truly alive, he begins to do things differently.

Peter begins to live his life not according to his agenda, but according to God's agenda. Instead of just deciding what he thinks ought to be done next, Peter prays and asks for guidance. When he goes to a new city, he heals people and tells them about Jesus. It is as if he steps out of the way and lets Christ take control of his life. And he becomes so much more powerful. The bumbling disciple becomes a true leader.
He teaches people about Jesus, he heals people and he prays constantly.

But even as a leader, Peter still remains a bit stubborn. When Paul begins to preach the gospel to Gentiles, Peter does not listen and he does not agree. He believes that Jesus came to save the Jews only. And he will not hear otherwise. So God presents Peter with a vision. God shows Peter a sheet on which there are many animals that he has never touched, let alone eaten. And God says, "Get up and eat." Even now, Peter is so stubborn that he refuses God three times! He says NO to Almighty God! I can't decide if I admire him or just think he is stupid. But God does not seem to take no for an answer. When Peter opens his eyes, there are three Gentiles knocking on his door. They invite him to the home of a Roman soldier named Cornelius. This is a man who imprisoned Jews, a source of oppression and violence. This was a man whom Peter should have feared. But Peter realizes that God is doing something new. He goes home with the Gentiles, to the home of a centurion named Cornelius. He eats with them and tells them about Jesus. When they believe, he says the most wonderful sentence. Peter says, "Who was I that I could hinder God?"

"Who was I that I could hinder God?"

It is only after this final vision that Peter truly follows God's will. All of his life, he stumbled and hindered what God was trying to do. But with this final vision, Peter realizes that God has a plan beyond his own fathoming. And he puts his trust in that.

How often do you and I hinder God? We hinder God by not listening, by sticking to life as we know it and being unwilling to try new things. We hinder God by judging others and being unwilling to share with them who we are.

We live in a crazy age, in which many faiths mingle and there is great violence. But we should not let fear make us hard-hearted. Jesus still asks us to tell the world about him but he may be asking us to do this in new ways. We must be willing to knock on the doors of strangers who look and think very differently from the way that we do. We must be willing to reach out and get to know the stranger even though he frightens us. Peter was willing to be led to the home of people whom he previously considered less than human and to tell them about his love for Jesus. Are you willing to take the same risk?

Discipleship has always been a bit scary because it means letting God run your life. And God does not take the easy road. God wants us serving and sharing the love of Christ every day. And one more thing, and this is perhaps the scariest part of all, you never know what God will do next.

- The Very Rev. Kate Moorehead

Monday, March 04, 2013