Loving God, you continue to work through many different types of people, asking us only to be open to the power of your Spirit.  Fill our hearts with the love and peace that come only from you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Peter could quite easily be described as the “all in” disciple.  When Jesus shows up, walking on the water, Peter is the one who is bold enough to step out of the boat.  When Jesus asks the disciples who they think he is, Peter is the one who blurts out that he is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.  When Jesus comes to wash Peter’s feet, at first Peter refuses.  However, once he finds out that he needs to do this if he wants to remain a disciple of Jesus, Peter is all in once again.  He wants not only his feet washed, but his hands and his head as well!  And later on, when Jesus appears on the beach with a charcoal fire, Peter is the one who puts on his clothes and jumps into the water as soon as he recognizes Jesus.

         Peter is always thought of as the bold one, and even says that he will lay down his life for Jesus.  However, that is exactly the moment when Jesus tells him, “before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times” (Jn. 13:38).  In the garden, it seems, Peter is still bold as he takes out his sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave (Jn. 18:10).  However, once Peter is in the courtyard of the high priest’s house, fear and denial replace his boldness.

         First it is the woman at the gate who asks Peter as he is coming in, “you are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” (Jn. 18:17).  No, says Peter.  “I am not.”  Then a while later, as Peter is standing around the fire with the others, he is asked almost exactly the same question, and once again he denies being a disciple of Jesus.  However, the third one is the kicker.  This time it is somebody who was in the garden and is a relative of the guy whose ear got chopped off by Peter.  And he says, “Didn’t I see you back there in the garden with him?” (cf. Jn. 18:26).  And the text doesn’t say this, but I’m betting that Peter said no and then got out of there as fast as he could go!  And then there is that moment when he hears the cock crow.

         It has been suggested that this denial was possibly more painful for Jesus than any of the other abuse that he endured.  It is kind of like your closest friend claiming not to know you as soon as you get into trouble.  However, no doubt it was painful for Peter as well, who thought that he could be bold and could even die for Jesus, but then discovers that he is full of fear, just like all the rest of us.  Truly, if there is hope for Peter, there is hope for all of us – even for the least bold among us!

         After all, there is another disciple in this story who is not quite as prominent as Peter.  In fact, there are a lot of questions about this unnamed, “other disciple.”  For example, how is it that this disciple is known to the high priest and is welcomed into the courtyard without question?  Why is it that nobody is questioning this other disciple, but are focusing all of their attention on Peter?  Did this person follow Jesus but only in secret?  Is this disciple a man or a woman?  All we know is that this person was known to the high priest and was also known to Peter.

         In the gospel of John, we hear about at least two prominent people who are secret disciples of Jesus.  We hear about Nicodemus, who comes to Jesus by night, and we hear about Joseph of Arimathea, who asks Pilate for the body of Jesus (Jn. 19:38).  They are secret disciples out of fear, just as Peter denies Jesus out of fear.  As you probably know from experience, both fear and denial are a part of the human condition.  We all have fallen short and have failed to stand up for Jesus and for others.  However, fear does not need to have the last word.

         In Peter’s case, he is given a chance after Jesus is raised from the dead to declare his love for Jesus three times.  It happens over a charcoal fire on the beach, just as his denial happened around a charcoal fire in the courtyard.  Peter is forgiven and restored and becomes exactly what Jesus said he would be – a rock upon which Christ’s church would be built.

         He also becomes once more the boldest among the disciples, and is the first to proclaim the good news after the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Both he and the other disciples were changed people once they knew that Jesus had risen from the dead and had received the promised Holy Spirit.  Fear no longer controlled them, for the love of Christ had taken its place.  Even in prison, or in torture, or even in death, Jesus was there with them and would raise them to life just as he had been raised to life.

         This week I came across an example of disciples of Jesus today who have chosen to live in love rather than fear.  There is a group in Arizona called “No More Deaths” that hikes along the border with Mexico and leaves jugs of water and food and even blankets for migrants who might come there.  The migrants are not just Mexican, but some have come up through Central America like our guest Razak who was here this week.  Since many of these people have died in the Arizona desert, this group is trying to give them what they need to stay alive.

         However, they are risking being arrested by doing so.  Border patrol agents have slashed the jugs of water and poured out the food on the ground, and some of the group have been arrested.  They continue, though, living in love rather than fear.

         May the Spirit of God enable us to do the same, forgiving and restoring us when we fail, and leading us into life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Lent 3 (NL 4)                                                            John 18:12-27

March 4, 2018

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2018 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved