Monday, March 16, 2020
Matthew 26:69-75: Peter
Caravaggio: Peter’s Denial
You too were with the Galilean.
The gift of courage is needed to speak as the Gospel calls us. The gift of endurance carries us through dark nights when we doubt that we can live up to the hope God has placed in us. The gift of discernment aides us in distinguishing rumor from truth. The gift of patience empowers us to wait upon Wisdom. The gift of faith protects us from our fears. The gift of compassion shields us from hatred and vengeance. The gift of serenity forestalls anger. The gift of love teaches us that the Spirit abides.
He went out and he began to weep bitterly.
One of the wonderful results of reading this story is that we see Peter, the rock upon which Christ builds God’s church, finds his circumstances overwhelming. There are times during Lent when we turn inward to take an honest assessment of ourselves when we may be overcome with a strong negative emotion that drives us away from all we believe. When this happens we ought to remember Peter.
The death of someone dear, the loss of a treasured job, the end of a cherished relationship . . . these ordinary life experiences become huge to us and they cut too close. Fear closes in, anger erupts, or depression and a sense of hopelessness take over. We experience a roller coaster of emotion and want nothing more than to collapse into some safe harbor where we can refuge until we recover.
We are called to speak out but we are too frightened. We are asked to join a Gospel cause in solidarity and we politely decline. Our colleagues ask us to join them as they take a risk for the common good. A family member asks us to help with an overdue intervention. We ignore addictions and bad behavior. We look away when we ought to look closely. We preserve ourselves when we ought to be working to preserve the kingdom.
Peter was called to great heights and turned away; but later in this same story when Christ asks him three times, “Do you love me?” Peter responds quickly, passionately and with no shadow of embarrassment or reluctance.
Peter tells us that each of us will fail at one time or another. Peter tells us that we will weep bitterly. And Peter tells us that there is always an opportunity to turn and return to God.
To read about Peter’s return, go to John 21:15-19.
A re-post from March 16, 2013.
Image from: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/CoreArt/art/bar_cvggo_deny.html
The Noontimes 