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St Peter By all accounts a volatile man the New Testament describes his difficulties with Paul, his fellow apostle whose feast day is also celebrated by the Church on this same day Peter – the Galilean fisherman Reviled by his fellow Jews as a provincial worker Called by the Greeks an ignorant and unlearned man Among the disciples it is Peter who most vividly and dramatically lets the team down One of the very small number of events in the life of Jesus that is described by all four gospels Is Peter’s denial of him – three times In the hour of his master’s most desperate need I was fortunate to come across this long lost document that has only recently been translated from Aramaic and transcribed from the papyrus scroll on which it was found It has the inscription From: The Jerusalem Institute for Contemporary Leadership and Management Memo To: Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah and Son of God And it reads - Dear Rabbi We have investigated at length the origins and character of the names you put forward for admission into your hand picked team of twelve apostles Whom we note you set the quite unreasonable task and goal of Turning the whole world upside down And instituting a new global religion and spiritual way; We recommend you attend our forthcoming seminar on re-focusing and re-examining your goals and vision Among the candidates you identify Matthew, a tax collector and therefore a thief and quite unsuitable to any position of trust The two sons of Zebedee, James and John, whom you recommend are both volatile and unreliable and have achieved the reputation “sons of thunder” Philip, Bartholomew, and Thaddeus are all men who have lived a simple life and never travelled far form their home country They will almost certainly let you down on a long journey A standard police check reveals that Simon the Zealot has a criminal record and is currently wanted by the Romans for crimes of violence James, the son of Alphaeus, is a timid person with no leadership qualities Thomas displays a propensity to mistrust and doubt and would not make a very good tem a player at all Andrew is also unsuitable However, worse of fall is his brother Simon Peter, who was most unco-operative and uncouth And who is given to fly off the handle and does not get on well with anyone around him He will surely let you down when you need him most We recommend you let him go now… There is one bright spot, however One of your candidates displays high levels of business acumen, particularly in regards to generating and maintaining funds He is also an adept and skilful manipulator of human resources That is, other people And displays all of the attributes that we consider make one a great leader in the world Yes, we heartily recommend to you Judas Iscariot And suggest you make him your right hand man and assistant What was it about St Peter What do we know of him in the Scriptures and in the traditions of the Church That might have prompted such a report from a group of leadership and management experts Which As tongue in cheek as it is Has the tinge of reality to it also… Imagine for a moment that Peter had lived today And began to follow Jesus today And applied, eventually, to be ordained Not as an apostle Let alone the first among the apostles But simply as a priest or minister of the faith In the church of Jesus Christ … What might that modern day version of the Jerusalem Institute for Contemporary Leadership The ordination selection panel say to him today Their report on Peter might go something like this Life Experience Not much really Several years fishing a single lake and performing associated tasks No real experience as captain of a ship, or as first mate Academic Qualifications Even less here I’m afraid Only skill seems to be fishing No degree in marine biology or aquaculture Would struggle to complete the academic requirements for ordination Note: fluent, however, in Hebrew and Greek Family Spent three years travelling around with an itinerant minister Says very little about a wife and family But does mention a mother in law Perhaps this is evidence of some form of family conflict Spiritual Journey Fell asleep at a crucial moment when asked to pray Pulled a sword on a law enforcement official on one occasion Had a very public bust up with a senior minister named Paul Not a team player Hobbies Fishing I’ve spoken at length about St Peter’s failings Or really, his perceived failings And why he would not seem to amount to much of a leader In the estimation of many today Even quite probably those charged with the responsibility of selecting leaders for churches And I’ve done all of that, really, to build up the background to a single statement A single sentence Spoken of and addressed to St Peter That I wish to make on this St Peter’s day They are the famous words spoken by Jesus to Peter “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church” Although Peter’s Jesus name is the common Simeon – Simon in Greek Jesus renames Peter Petros – a rock And in this morning’s Gospel reading from John we have the gracious restoration of Peter Whereby three Jesus three times commands Peter to feed my sheep The three denials of Peter – one of which occurred in the courtyard over a charcoal fire Are here redressed on the beach of resurrection around another charcoal fire Peter is the chief shepherd And the very rock on which the Church of Jesus Christ was founded Not just this Church – St Peter’s Mornington Named after him But the whole worldwide community of Christians everywhere today And in ages past - At the first thought it might seem outrageous to many That a hot tempered failure An unlearned fisherman From a small town in Galilee Could be the rock on which the church is built There is much about St Peter that might make him today to be judged to be a less than ideal candidate for inclusion among the apostles of Jesus and an undesirable candidate for leadership in the present day Church but Jesus saw, I think, the heart and the should of the man named Peter and said I want you on my team, Come and follow me Jesus had no regards then And has no regard today For what the human resource experts Or for what a panel of hand picked professionals Might see in a person’s history or past Or what a personality type profile or psychological analysis might say about them But God looks to the heart of the person God sees you, and me, and says to us each I want you on my team Now, come and follow me And make your contribution to the life of this parish And of this Church That is built with the stories of the lives and triumphs and the failures of those who have gone before us The call of Jesus came to Peter It comes to each of us this St Peter’s Day In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
| the feast day of Saint Peter: Apostle and Martyr June 30th, 2002 "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church" (Matthew 16:18) |