Fortieth Page: Steady On Simon!

 

And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. Mark 14:54

It is said that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”. Even as I write that I am painfully reminded of the tough guys in United Flight 93  to Pennsylvania on that fateful morning of September 11, 2001; they called out to one another “let’s roll” when there was but a chance of a “snowball in hellfire” of their escaping certain death in the impending crash.

That, sirs, is heroism.

Alas, Simon Peter did not belong in that brave company, his only claim to valour being the cutting off of Malchus’s ear.

No, he wasn’t “hunting with the hounds”, but he was content to “run with the hares” all right. Thus it is that we see him in the corridors of the high priest’s palace “warming himself” outside when Jesus was being arraigned inside.

Jesus – his guru, leader, master for three years.

And Peter had sworn to standby Him till the very end. He had declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Matt. 32:36).  Brave and boastful words. What is more, he was regarded as the leader of the motley gang: ” And all the other disciples said the same“.

I was just reading the other day the English saying to the effect that “fine words butter no parsnips”. Jesus knew it all too well, for He  had told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

And further

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”.(Matthew 26: 34)

I guess Simon Peter was bothered somewhat by this assertive declaration. So when Jesus was captured and taken to the High Priest’s palace, he followed

Afar off…….

I don’t know how many of us are like our (un) worthy friend?

Indeed, there are several benefits to walking at a distance.

If any of the company of Pharisees and elders accosts us, you can just say you are going on an evening constitutional.

On the other hand, should you meet somebody from the circle of Jesus, you can claim you are going to the Master’s defence but unfortunately, you suffered an ankle sprain in the melee and hence your slow walk.

And there are people (who due to their different faith) wouldn’t like it to be known widely that they are following Jesus. Distance in such a case affords a convenient escape route.

Perhaps some of them have heard about Him. They have nothing against Jesus. In fact, they like Him and have some sympathy for His anti-establishment ideas. His boldness in calling a spade a spade ( white washed tombs,  “You snakes! You brood of vipers!) enthuses them. But yet when push comes to shove:

“Did you go for that Christian meeting”?

“Not really, I was passing that way and just wondered what the crowd was about.”

Cool

There is no real conviction and consequently, there is no courage to write home about.

But curiosity rather than your bravado gets the better of you and you land up in the high priest’s palace, as Peter did. But of course, you still want to play it safe and take refuge in a little group that is warming itself rather than venture into the hall to be with Jesus.

Peter warmed himself at the fire Mark 14:54

The guy was in need of warmth all right, but not the fahrenheit kind. What he really needed was some spiritual energy that galvanized him to face opposition, the kind that Christians showed when faced with lions in Nero’s amphitheatre.

 

At this point of time – in his unbroken self – Peter would simply have skedaddled if you mention the sundry other methods of torture devised by man to persecute men (and women) of faith. I don’t think he would have even had the courage to read the latter portion of Hebrews chapter 11 which goes:

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

³³ Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.

³⁴ Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

³⁵ Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

³⁶ And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

³⁸ (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

Maybe Peter thought the show was good while it lasted but it is not worth betting your last dollar on. After all

Jesus was dispensable (was he?)

Life goes on (does it?)

Didn’t he say that “I am the way, the truth, and the life” John 14:6 What did he mean?

Time for a redux of the other words of Jesus in the same context:

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”.(Matthew 26: 34)

The following account narrated in the same chapter is a revelation of the chicken heart of the big fisherman.

⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

⁷¹ Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷² He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

⁷³ After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”

⁷⁴ Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. The man was at last broken.

The venerable King James Version puts the 73rd verse above like this:

And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.

Bewrayeth? This is a KJV (the King James Version) special, occurring only thrice in the entire Bible. Our focus at this time is on Matthew 26:73 where we find Peter making a desperate attempt to disassociate himself from the Lord but could not stifle his Galilean accent that is giving him away. I guess he wasn’t particularly conscious of this phenomenon. And I am certain he would be bemused that his faltering assertions to the contrary should merit such a grandiloquent description in such quaint word of archaic English that likely was not part of his fisher-folk vocabulary.

He was losing this game of deception; his words were saying one thing but his spontaneous Capernaum dialect – gaining credibility with every utterance – quite another.

Sometimes our accents give us away…..

….and our particular brand of pronunciation. This is a mirth-provoking subject and everyone has his or her favourite (regional) example. Lest we feel superior, those of us bending over with laughter at others’ expense would do well to remember that we ourselves may be the butt of similar language-based jokes. But permit me just one, please.

Admittedly the sins of a Methodist minister may not be manifold but I am sorry to say they are always “grievEEEous” especially if he is serving in Madras.  The next time you attend a communion service in a Methodist church in  Chennai, listen attentively and chances are you will be overcome with grief …….as much for the Master’s suffering as for the minister’s mispronunciation. Go figure!

But with Peter, it was no laughing matter as he found himself in the grip of a cruel irony; while he was at great pains to deny the truth of his relationship with the Master, his accent was actually affirming it!

It is important that our words and our accent say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our attitude say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our actions say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our demeanour say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our behaviour say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our conduct say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our thoughts say the say same thing (that’s a tough one!)

If not, we might be losing the plot.

Poor Peter. Little did he imagine the pitfalls when he chose to walk with the Master. Focused on the Kingdom as he was in the beginning, he failed to factor in the suffering that inevitably results in this pursuit. We can see it plainly in Matthew 16:22: “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!. Far from patting him on his back for his concern for His well-being, Jesus turned around and called him “Satan”, for savouring human concerns more than divine –  only five verses after He’d commended Peter for receiving a revelation from the Father Himself.

Sometimes revelations go to our head. We kind of get carried away, thinking we are the cat’s whiskers. We begin to speak like the oracles of God – even to Jesus! Jesus lost no time in putting Peter in his place. Though (as we have already seen) he later made a glib declaration “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” (Luke 22:33), Peter didn’t really mean it from his heart.

High-sounding declarations, but little intent. Airy fairy words spoken with a fine flourish from a vacuous heart; no ballast of thought. Missing the big picture altogether owing to preoccupation with our own fanciful imaginations.

Empty vessels make much noise.

The moment crucifixion began to take on the contours of reality, Peter backpedalled.

Still waters?            Welcome

Green pastures?     Wonderful

Valley of the shadow of death? Never

Via Dolorosa?          No way

You get shown up for what you are, sooner or later, when the cloak is removed to reveal a dagger. It’s so difficult to accept suffering as being a part of God’s plan.

Brother Simon Peter, you have a long way to go.

He must needs be broken (archaic)

The big fisherman required some emotional prodding for this to happen: the penetrating eyes of Jesus piercing through his soul and laying him bare – a pathetic, shameful renegade who at the slightest threat of intimidation grovels like an invertebrate worm, thinking nothing of the three years of walking with the Master; the teachings, the miracles even the ethereal experience at the mount of transfiguration fast evaporating from his conscience!

Remember: Jesus went to Calvary for you! Can we stand up to be counted among His followers?

Steady on!

 

(history tells us that eventually Simon Peter was also crucified; and that he chose the “upside-down” position as he counted himself unworthy to imitate Jesus)

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