Feast of Saint Peter
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be alway acceptable unto Thee, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
From the Gospel: “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (St. Matthew 16:13)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Peter the Apostle.
The defining characteristic of Saint Peter would be his courage.
It was his courage and willingness to take risks which caused our Lord to choose him to be the leader of the Apostolic band.
What I would like to do today is to consider several examples of Peter’s courage, the only time his courage failed, and last, what this means for us.
To begin with, Peter’s responding to Jesus’ call took enormous courage.
We know the story.
Jesus was walking along the shore and came upon Peter and Andrew casting their nets into the sea, because they were fishermen.
Jesus called out to them and said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)
“And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” (Matthew 4:20)
We know the story, but we seldom consider the courage it took to forsake their former lives and follow.
Peter and Andrew were successful fishermen.
Apparently, he and Andrew owned their boat.
Peter had a home and a family, or at least, he had a mother-in-law.
Yet, when the Lord called, he was willing to forsake all to follow him.
Who among us would be willing to forsake the source of our prosperity, our success in life, even our families to follow Jesus?
Another example of Peter’s courage was when he walked on the water.
We need to remember what led to this event.
Jesus was not with the disciples, having sent them on ahead so he could pray.
They were crossing the lake when a storm arose, tossing their small boat and making them fear for their lives.
After many hours of this, they saw a ghostly figure walking on the water.
Naturally enough, they were terrified, believing that what they were seeing was a ghost.
Then Jesus spoke to them, saying “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” (Matt. 14:27)
All the disciples heard this, but it was Peter who had the courage to ask to join Jesus on the storm-tossed waters.
“Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” (Matthew 14:28)
To which Jesus said, “Come.”
“And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.” (Matt. 14:29)
Peter demonstrated courage in forsaking the security of the boat to join the Lord.
Of course, we know while Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he could walk on the water, but as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm, he sank.
There is a deep insight into the Christian life in this for us, but the point is that Peter, alone amongst the disciples, had the courage to step out of the boat.
The final example of Peter’s courage we will consider today, although there are many others we could, was the courage he displayed at Caesarea Philippi.
Jesus challenged the disciples asking, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matthew 16:13)
All of them began to offer the opinions of others, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:14)
These answers were certainly safe enough.
Many people are willing to discuss other’s ideas about Jesus.
But then Jesus asks them to lay it on the line.
“But whom say ye that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)
This is quite another matter, no longer are they asked to report on the opinions of others, now they are asked to declare their own faith.
All the disciples had seen all the great works Jesus had performed.
All had been with Him throughout His earthly ministry.
All must surely have speculated whether He was the Messiah.
But it was Peter who had the courage to declare to Jesus’ face, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)
Not, “I think.”
Not, “I wonder if.”
Not, “you could be.”
No, his declaration was clear, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
In that moment, he committed himself utterly and finally to Jesus.
There could be no turning away from such a statement.
Jesus honored his courage, saying to him, “thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (St. Matt. 16:18-19)
Jesus appointed Peter as the leader the apostolic band, the first among equals.
He had the courage to commit himself irrevocably to Christ.
This is the sort of courage and decisiveness leaders must have.
We do well to honor Peter for his courage, but we cannot pass by in silence the one time his courage utterly failed him.
One of the things which distinguishes Holy Scripture from other ancient writings is that it reports the failings of its heroes as faithfully as their successes.
You will find, for instance, no mention in Egyptian records of Pharaoh’s defeats.
In the Scriptures, no attempt is made to hide the failings of David, or Solomon, or, in this case, Peter, the man who was appointed to be the leader of the Christian Church.
On the mount of Olives, where Jesus led them after the last supper, Jesus gave the disciples an ominous prophecy of what was about to happen.
“All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” (Matthew 26:31)
In short, He told them they would all abandon him.
Peter, unwilling to accept the idea that he would ever abandon Jesus, said to Him, “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” (Matt. 26:32)
Jesus then put him on notice, “Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” (Matthew 26:34)
Peter, trusting too much in his own courage, replied to Jesus, “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.” (Matthew 26:35)
Of course, we know how this turned out.
That night, as Jesus was on trial for His life, Peter was lingering nearby, outside the place where Jesus was being tried.
Three different times, he was accused of being one of Jesus’ disciples.
Each time he denied it.
The final denial was the worst of all.
Peter began “to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man.” (Matthew 26:74)
Just as these words were leaving his mouth, the cock crowed.
At that moment he remembered Jesus words to him, that he would deny him thrice before cock crow.
Then, “he went out, and wept bitterly.” (Matthew 26:75)
Of course, Peter’s world was turned upside down.
He, who had shown such courage on so many occasions, when the chips were down, had denied Jesus.
He must have asked himself whether his faith in Jesus had just been for show.
He must have doubted whether he was still worthy of leadership after such a betrayal.
After the Resurrection, Jesus made His verdict on Peter crystal clear.
In the final post-resurrection appearance recorded in John’s Gospel, Jesus three times asks Peter, “Peter, do you love me?” (John 21:15)
Each time, Peter professes “Lord, you know I love you.”
To which Jesus replies, “Feed my sheep.”
The fact that there were three questions, one for each denial, is significant.
Jesus forgave Peter for each of his denials, and more to the point, restored him to the position of leadership, by commanding him to “feed my sheep.”
It is equally clear from his subsequent behavior that Peter understood this and led the Church courageously for the rest of his life, accepting beatings, threats, imprisonments, and even martyrdom without protest, other than asking that he might be crucified upside down, feeling unworthy to suffer in the same manner as his Lord.
In the life of Peter, there is great comfort for all of us.
I know that in my own life, there are many times when I have failed to have the courage to stand up and be counted as Christian.
I know that there have been many times when I have denied Christ by my failure to speak out against wickedness and vice.
When I consider my failures, like Peter, I weep bitterly.
I question whether Jesus, who was not afraid to lay down his life for me, could ever make any use of me after such disloyalty.
I suspect we have all have shad similar experiences.
And yet, the lessons of Peter’s life for us are clear.
Our failures of courage do not disqualify us from a life of service.
Jesus is always willing to forgive us our failures, even as he was willing to forgive Peter, and to restore us to discipleship.
In that knowledge, we must confess our failures, receive forgiveness, and serve Him usefully thereafter, even as Peter continued to serve the Lord, even after his great denial.
Amen.
And now we ascribe unto thee, O Lord, as is most justly due, all might, majesty, power, and dominion, both now and forever. Amen.