I want to be Simon Peter.
The conversation at a church group meeting turned to characters from the Bible and the question was asked, “Which one is your favorite?” A surprising number immediately responded, “Peter!” I had expected to hear names such as John, Paul, Esther, Joshua, Caleb, Elijah, Mary, or Joseph, but the name Peter rang out. He is a favorite amongst believers and with reason.
If anything Simon Peter was a man of contradictions. He did his thinking with his mouth and sometimes with his hands, and because of this, he is considered by some as churlish, uneducated, inconsiderate, and perhaps even uncouth. But he was also forward, brave, decisive, and loyal. It is true, that we read about Simon Peter and each of us sees some little aspect or character trait of him in ourselves or barring that, we, would like to be a little like him, able to put our heads down and charge into a situation without thought to the consequences, or once in a while we would like to chop off an ear that doesn’t listen or even tell the powers that be to go suck lemons because we are going to do what must be done and we are going to do it our way.
His mind must have raced when his brother Andrew came to tell him that they had found the Messiah. I can imagine his rough fisherman’s hands mending nets and listening to Jesus preach from his boat, wondering ‘Is this truly the One we sought?’. Not long after, when so many left the Savior Peter was offered the chance to go as well, but he declined with the words “Where shall we go. You are the One with the truth that we seek”. Then in contrasting mood, in the court of the High Priest, he readily denounced the One who was to die for his sins.
He was a leader but he could also be led. Jesus asked and he gave his boat. Jesus said, “Follow Me” and he followed. Then he hid behind John, urging the latter to ask Jesus who was the traitor among them. I suspect he was afraid of the answer.
He might have been rough but he shed tears when the truth of what he had done in denouncing Jesus sank in. He might have lobbed off an ear but he also served a meal to thousands of people. He might have asked for money to pay the temple tax but he also left a boat full of fish behind for others to benefit from.
The Sanhedrin looked at this fisherman and decided he was not worth the effort to imprison because he did not have the necessary learning to preach theology, but what Peter preached was beyond theology. Peter, like us, might have sought the Messiah who could save souls, but like Peter, we might find rather a new way of living, beyond the confines of the flesh and theology where glory is not a boat or the fish in it but a crown of glory and a heart for people.
Legend has it that years later, during the reign of Nero, Peter fled Rome to escape persecution. On the way out he encountered Jesus, Who asked him where he was going. Peter replied that he was fleeing the city and asked the same of Jesus, to which Jesus answered, “I am going to Rome to take your place.” Repentant and contrite Peter turned around and headed back. Shortly thereafter he was crucified by Nero’s soldiers, insisting that they crucify him upside down as he was not worthy to die the same death as Jesus.
To be like Peter takes more than a rough and tumble attitude towards life, it also demands tears, obedience, and sacrifice.
