Wednesday, April 20, 2022:  Post Easter - The Peter Principle

“When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the sea.”  (John 21:7, The Message Bible)

               What is it with Peter and jumping out of boats? How did that go the last time? If I remember rightly, Jesus had to pull him to safety. Well, in a way, in a much different way, Jesus is going to do the same again.

                Mind you, if I had an opportunity to encounter the Risen Lord, I might be tempted to jump out of the boat, too and I don’t even know how to swim.

                It is somewhat curious that Peter and the disciples had retreated to their fishing boats, post Resurrection. So routine, so practical, so familiar, so ordinary.  There was probably some reassurance being together again after all that had gone on.  Some hard work never hurt anyone and can be good therapy when the world is all upside down, as surely theirs was. He is risen. What does that really mean to such simple men?

                They were about to find out.

                Jesus stood on shore in risen form. But his appearance is not in some blaze of glory and fanfare. He, too, embraces the ordinary and simple; he has prepared for them a common fish breakfast. Having a meal has always been Jesus’ way of connecting with people, of building bridges between himself and others, of making relationships. There is a hint of communion in this breakfast, the breaking of the bread, the passing around the fish.  A new semblance of community and bonding is restored. It is the same as when Jesus was leading them, but not the same either. “Not one of the disciples dared ask, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Master.” (John 21:12, The Message)

                Then the story turns to a conversation specifically between Peter and the Risen Jesus. Perhaps Peter had always inwardly feared this moment when Jesus might ask him to account for his actions, especially his denials at Jesus’ trial. Would this be the moment when all his braggadocio and his shortcomings and his failures be dragged out into the open and Jesus would blame him and shame him?

                But no, the conversation turns into one about Love. “After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’” (John 21: 15, The Message) Did Jesus mean whether Peter loved Jesus more than Peter loved the other disciples or more than the other disciples loved Jesus? Either way, it is Peter’s answer which is critical: “Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

                Usually, it seems, that we define our relationship with how much Jesus unconditionally loves us. Jesus loves me, this I know. I am the recipient of Jesus’ love, grace, mercy and hope. But real Love is a two-way passage. Jesus also wants our unconditional Love. Do we love the Lord as he loves us?

                It must be an important question because Jesus asks two more times whether Peter loves him. In fact, Peter gets a little annoyed after the third time (some nerve, eh?) but strongly affirms, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.” (21: 17)

                Peter gets his priorities straight. He has been forgiven and his relationship with Jesus is stronger than ever. Jesus saves him again.

                I never paid attention to it before as often as I have read this story. It’s in verse 19. Jesus finishes off the conversation by saying to Peter, “Follow me.”

                Peter’s discipleship began when he left his nets at the command  to follow Jesus. We watched as all through the Gospels, Peter rode the rollercoaster of faith in his attempts to follow Jesus, the highs and the lows. I may have been too harsh on Peter. I don’t question that his heart was trying to be in the right place, that he sincerely wanted to do the right thing by Jesus, that he wanted to do his very best for Jesus. It just didn’t always work out as he had hoped or promised.

                But in the end, (or should I say New Beginning?), the direction was still the same, “Follow me.”  The command of faithful followership was the same - Love others. The focus was the same – Jesus himself.

                You may think I have been tough on Peter but I see him as the proto-type of my own followership of Jesus. I can’t speak for any of you but I can for myself. In Peter, I see my own reflection of faith and discipleship. Simply put when I was good, I was very good and when I was bad, I was horrid. But I pray that we let go of the past, and resolve to follow Jesus, the Risen Lord, and love him, love others, and oh yes, save a little love for yourself as well.    

                O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
                Be Thou forever near me, my Master and my Friend;
                I shall not fear the battle if Thou art by my side.
                Nor wander from the pathway if Thou wilt be my guide. (John Ernest Bode)

 Dale