Today’s Readings: Psalm 62; Numbers 6:22-27; Luke 22:54-71; Ephesians 2:11-23; Psalm 4
When it comes to the way human beings treat their leaders, I’d have to say we are a pretty fickle bunch. We spend lots of time putting our leaders on pedestals – only to tire of them when they get up there. Once they're firmly established, we then start pulling them down from the very same pedestals we put them on. We don’t just do that with our modern leaders – we do it with folks in the Bible as well. It’s particularly easy to do with someone like Peter. We can look at his life and find many, many things to praise ranging from Peter’s willingness to walk away from friends and family at the drop of a hat when Jesus’ first called him to be a disciple to Peter’s willingness to take a risk and step out of the boat and onto the stormy waters when Jesus reached out to him. Those are pieces that make Peter seem well-suited for the praise that often gets showered upon him. But those experiences are only a part of Peter’s story. Another part of Peter’s story includes his denials of Jesus as told in today’s Gospel reading. It can be difficult for some to reconcile those two aspects of Peter. We wonder to ourselves, “Is Peter a saint or a sinner?” The answer is that Peter is both. Buried in that answer about Peter is an important point for all of us to remember. God reaches out and calls us right where we are. God calls the pieces of us that are saint as well as those pieces of us that are sinner. The even better news, however, is that while God calls us right where we are (foibles and all); God’s transformative love doesn’t leave us there. God’s grace helps grow and nurture those seeds of the saint within us until they reach amazing new places. That explains how the same Peter who acted so cowardly in his denials of knowing Jesus was later able to give his life for his faith. Today, let us give thanks for two things: (1) a God who is gracious enough to reach out and embrace us exactly as we are – warts and all; and (2) a God whose love is so powerful that it takes us to places we would never dream. Til next time…
When it comes to the way human beings treat their leaders, I’d have to say we are a pretty fickle bunch. We spend lots of time putting our leaders on pedestals – only to tire of them when they get up there. Once they're firmly established, we then start pulling them down from the very same pedestals we put them on. We don’t just do that with our modern leaders – we do it with folks in the Bible as well. It’s particularly easy to do with someone like Peter. We can look at his life and find many, many things to praise ranging from Peter’s willingness to walk away from friends and family at the drop of a hat when Jesus’ first called him to be a disciple to Peter’s willingness to take a risk and step out of the boat and onto the stormy waters when Jesus reached out to him. Those are pieces that make Peter seem well-suited for the praise that often gets showered upon him. But those experiences are only a part of Peter’s story. Another part of Peter’s story includes his denials of Jesus as told in today’s Gospel reading. It can be difficult for some to reconcile those two aspects of Peter. We wonder to ourselves, “Is Peter a saint or a sinner?” The answer is that Peter is both. Buried in that answer about Peter is an important point for all of us to remember. God reaches out and calls us right where we are. God calls the pieces of us that are saint as well as those pieces of us that are sinner. The even better news, however, is that while God calls us right where we are (foibles and all); God’s transformative love doesn’t leave us there. God’s grace helps grow and nurture those seeds of the saint within us until they reach amazing new places. That explains how the same Peter who acted so cowardly in his denials of knowing Jesus was later able to give his life for his faith. Today, let us give thanks for two things: (1) a God who is gracious enough to reach out and embrace us exactly as we are – warts and all; and (2) a God whose love is so powerful that it takes us to places we would never dream. Til next time…
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