“Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ‘Never, Lord’, he said. ‘This shall never happen to You!'” Matthew 16:22

“‘Lord if it is You,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.'” Matthew 14:28

“So Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask Him which one He means.'” John 13:24

“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting of his ear.” John 18:10

“But he began to call down curses and he swore, ‘I don’t know this man you are talking about!'” Mark 14:71

“Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold, I do not have, but what I do have, I give you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.'” Acts 3:6

Peter and his story, his walk with Jesus and his leadership in the faith after Christ’s resurrection is such a fascinating and enlightening one. For it seems to me that we see Peter’s humaneness in great detail and if we can be open to it, see our own humaneness as well and can learn from it.

Leadership – Much is made today about the need for leaders and the value of leadership. It seems to be one of the hallmark traits for greatness. When a situation arises that calls for it, a leader will step in and take charge, no matter the situation, even if it involves a superior. That’s what Peter felt called to do. Jesus, who is the Messiah, who had performed so many miracles, brought about so much good; started talking crazy. Jesus was talking about suffering horribly, even being killed and by His own people, no less. Jesus’s talking could definitely hurt the organization of the disciples and derail their mission. That talk must be stopped. So Peter, the leader, acted. He rebuked Jesus for the good of Jesus and the organization. That’s what a good leader does. And, if we’re talking a human organization then that might be appropriate. Jesus was and is God. Peter was rebuking God! Who rebukes God or stands against God? Satan does. Here’s something for us to reflect on. Have we ever told God He’s wrong? Have we looked at our circumstances in our life, experienced an unexpected answer to a prayer and thought or even in essence prayed to God saying or at least inferring, God I think you got this one wrong? There is no dual leadership with God and us. God is in charge. God is the leader, PERIOD. If we challenge that leadership, we may also receive a similar response, out of love, for our own good.

Risk Taking – Risk taking is another attribute that is often lauded today. Don’t be afraid to fail, take the risk, the greater the risk the greater the reward. Peter took a risk. To start with the situation was dicey. Night, in a small boat, far from shore, with a storm kicking up, the disciples were in a deteriorating situation. Then, they see what must be a spirit, a ghost. Nothing physical, no person can walk on water. Yet here comes what seems to be just that; a man walking on water. Jesus called out a reassurance to them not to be afraid for it was Him. Who’s the risk taker in the group? Peter. How does a man walk on water? If this is really Jesus doing this then He should be able to allow me to do it as well; Peter thinks. So he asks Jesus to allow Peter to walk on water as well. Probably, much to Peter’s surprise, Jesus agrees and calls Peter out of the boat. Talk about a reward! Peter is walking on water! Then humaneness rears its ugly head. The storm is still there. The wind is still blowing, the waves still crashing. The world takes Peter’s attention of Jesus and Peter starts to sink. We may pray for great things in our lives, things that are truly outside our comfort zone. We may believe that we are ready to fulfill them if God will only allow it. However, what about the world? What will happen when the world either through threats of storms or perhaps the glory of successes; attempts to have us take our eyes, our concentration off of God and His plan? The peace comes from knowing, because of what happened to Peter; that Jesus Christ will never let us drown should we take our concentration off Him and start to sink into the sea of worldliness.

Fear and Hesitancy – The disciples had been around Jesus enough to know; if He said it was going to happen, it was going to happen. If Jesus said 5,000 can be fed with five loaves of bread and two fish, they can. If Jesus says to a girl who is dead; arise, she will. If Jesus tells the lame to walk, the blind to see, the lepers to be healed; they are. Jesus is now saying that one of His disciples; one of His most trusted friends, is going to betray Him. Dread comes over the group. Maybe in earlier times, the disciples would have protested that Jesus was wrong; that they would never do such a thing. This night, there was only fear. It was also interesting that it was not a fear that led to finger pointing or accusations: “I bet it is Thomas or I know it is Andrew, that is something he would do”. No, each discipled feared, that because Jesus did not name the traitor, it could be any one of them. If Jesus said it, it will happen. The hesitancy comes into play with Peter in that he dearly wants to know who it is or at least that it is not him. Yet, he is hesitant to ask Jesus directly. Why? We can’t be sure. Maybe Peter thinks he won’t get an answer. Maybe Peter is afraid of another rebuke. Maybe Peter believes John is more likely to pry the answer out of Jesus than Peter is. Maybe it is that old adage: “Never ask a question you can’t stand the answer to”. In one respect, the fear the disciples feel comes from being confronted with the truth of and from Jesus. Jesus Christ is God. Therefore, what Jesus Christ says is it, period, exclamation point. We may not want to hear it, we may want to deny it, but the power of God will always win out. It is only accurate to have a fearful respect in being in the presence of that kind of power. Yet, the Power of God is always used in righteousness, justice and love. It is a power we can’t truly comprehend, but it is a power always used for the perfect good. In the face of such power, we may become hesitant to ask or even interact. If God is so powerful, what does He care about the singular me? I can’t matter to Him, so why ask. I would agree with that assessment from a human point of view, except that Jesus Christ specifically calls on us to ask. He tells us that each of us, even our hairs are numbered and important to God. Our Creator God, Father in Heaven, loves us and will answer us and will never abandon us; even if the question, let alone the answer seems scary.

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, in looking at Peter and his humaneness, it is most certainly not to judge Peter. As for me, I don’t know if I would have had the strength or courage to do any of these things let a lone not make the errors that Peter did. No, we look at Peter to reflect on Peter, to learn through Peter. We look at Peter to ask ourselves about our own humaneness and how it is impacting our relationship with our Heavenly Father. It is to also understand the Great Grace and Miracle that our Savior knows about humaneness because He came to this earth and became completely human as well as completely God. That Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of our humaneness that we might come and abide in Him, through His perfection. Praise be to God and thanksgiving for Peter, for what we can learn from him and that God has a plan for each of us, just as He did for Peter.

Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we are so thankful, for Your word and how it teaches us about Your Loving, Perfect Nature. We give thanks for servants, past and present, like Peter who answered Your call and gave so much of themselves, even with their humaneness and frailties that we all share. Forgive us when we allow our human traits to take our focus off You and supersede Your direction for us with our own. Like with Peter, instruct us, save us, answer us and moreover love us that in Your Mercy, we can always return to You. That in Your instructing, saving, answering and loving us, we may become servants who share Your Love with this needy world and bring praise to Your Most Holy Name. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen