Image: Orthodox icon of fishers in a boat with a net full of fish. Another man swims beside. Another man waits on the beach with a cute little hibachi at his feet. (Fresco from the Greek Orthodox Church in Capernaum, Galilee)
I have been wondering for some time now if the Apostle Peter was really that big of a doofus.
I did a speed-read through the gospels to find out if there is even one depiction, pre-Resurrection, of Peter having a normal, reasonably proportioned response to anything Jesus said or did. There are one or two occasions where Peter serves as Jesus’ straight man, voicing the questions that elicit exactly what we’re supposed to hear in that point of the story… But otherwise, it all goes something like this:
Jesus: You know, it would be nice if both Martha and Mary could sit down and listen tonight. Peter, would you get the snacks?
Peter: Me, Lord? I would never sully my hands with mere snacks!
Jesus: Well, everyone in the Kingdom of Heaven is on the snack rota. Are you opting out?
(Brief pause)
Peter: My Lord! I will run out this instant and roast you the finest wildebeest!
Jesus (just barely managing to not roll his eyes, because he is Jesus, after all): Peter, we don’t need an entire roast wildebeest in six hours. We need a bowl of Chex Mix NOW.
Peter: I fly, my Lord!
The Beloved Disciple: The Rock on whom you found your Church, huh.
Martha: (stares silently at Jesus in fundamental competence)
Mary: Seriously?
Jesus: You gotta trust me on this.
(Muffled noises from the kitchen, including, “Martha? Where do you keep the… Never mind!”)
While Jesus is alive and among his companions, Peter remains the anti-Trickster – the guy who goes one step too far or says one thing too much, who enthusiastically flails his way into the exactly wrong spot. This culminates in the wretched denial/betrayal in the courtyard while his friend and teacher is undergoing interrogation and torture… And the clumsy fumbling through the Brunch on the Beach… (For those of you playing along at home, in one of the post-execution appearances of Jesus, he is waiting for the fishing apostles to come ashore one morning. Peter, who has been fishing naked, sees that familiar form tending a beach bonfire – panics, puts on his robe and jumps into the sea. Very Peter.) Somehow, Jesus’ trust in his goofy sidekick has not abated. And somehow – off the page, where we can’t see – Peter grows into his friend’s loving vision of what he could be.
This moves me so much. The gap between what I seem capable of and what God wants from me – well, it ain’t small. While many folks look to scripture, particularly Christian scripture, for answers, for certainty, for evidence on how to live an impeccably holy life – I am so heartened by the mess and muddle I find there. There is abundant evidence of God’s power to use the rich panoply of human vices and foibles – which is the good news we really need. Let’s face it: self-centered, not-very-well-thought-out bullshit is humanity’s chief art form. If Peter starts out as a rock in the “everything above the neck is pure granite” sense, and becomes, through error and failure, a real rock on which a vulnerable and confused community can rely on… Well, there’s hope for all of us. All of us.
That was a hoot, Carol!
Amen!