I really like Peter. I do. I find him easy to relate to, largely because of how honestly he’s depicted in the pages of Holy Scripture. And that’s really cool, a kind of surprising, really, especially since Peter was a pillar of the early Church, and it would have been easy for the Biblical writers to depict him as flawless. But that’s not what we find in the pages of Scripture, is it?

 

Peter was one of Jesus’ three closest friends, one of the three with whom Jesus shares some of the most important, and intimate, and dramatic moments of his life. There’s a special relationship here between them. So when Jesus shares with the disciples that he’s about to undergo great suffering, die, and then rise from the dead three days later, it’s not surprising that Peter feels free to speak up. Only, he’s off the mark. He rebukes Jesus for saying what he did, and Jesus has to put him in his place, and does so in front of all the disciples so that they’ll all get the message. Get behind me, Satan!

 

Now I pointed this out a few weeks ago when we read the story of Peter’s call, when Jesus says: Come, follow me, and I’ll make you fish for people, but I think it bears repeating that the Greek word used in each of these statements is the same. It’s translated “follow” in the call story, and again in this story when Jesus says that those who desire to “follow” him must take up their cross in order to do so. And it’s the same word translated “behind” here in Jesus’ rebuke of Peter. And here’s the point, then, as I pointed out a few weeks ago, the place of a disciple, the place of a follower, is always behind the master. Whether it’s an invitation: come behind me, and I’ll make you fish for people, as it is in the call story, or whether it’s like the rebuke in today’s Gospel: go away behind me, Satan, as the Greek literally says here, our rightful place as disciples is always behind Jesus, which gives us, not only our proper position, but also our proper perspective…

 

Peter gets out of line. He tries to take the lead. He starts to put his way of thinking above and before God’s way, and Jesus has to remind him of his proper place: get behind me.

 

But, again, I like Peter. I find him easy to relate to in his weaknesses, in his failures, in his up and down moments. If Peter were pictured in Scripture as always at the top of his game and never stumbling, that would be far less helpful, and certainly far less relatable for me, and maybe for you, too. I know that I get out of position sometimes, like Peter does here. I know that, at times in my life, I’ve acted as if I know better than God what’s best for me, or what I should be doing, or where I should be going. And, it’s probably not surprising, that such times are often about my wanting to avoid a particular hardship or suffering, not unlike Peter thinking Jesus must be nuts to think that being rejected, taken and killed is the what God has in store for him. It’s like Peter’s thinking: Really, Jesus? Maybe you’re not thinking straight here. God wouldn’t want this for you. You really ought to reconsider what you think God’s calling you to. But Jesus rebukes him, and puts him back in his place, behind the master, not in front. And in that position, Peter’s perspective gets changed.

 

If Jesus is going ahead of us, if we’re behind him where we belong, then we really have nothing to fear. I mean, Jesus goes through the passion. He dies a real death, and he is raised from the dead on the third day. So what do we have to fear if we’re following him? Death? Death is defeated! Sin? Look, Peter sins, but does Jesus cut him off? No! He puts him back in line, but he doesn’t cut him off. And Peter, back in his proper position, is now ultimately protected. Going before us in all things, leading the way, Jesus is our shield and our sure defense…

 

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we won’t ever face hardships, or that we’ll never undergo suffering. The call of Jesus is a call to take up the cross. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer so powerfully states it in his seminal work, The Cost of Discipleship, the call of Jesus, is a call to die! When we’re in the right position, and have the right perspective, then, and only then, can we begin to understand what it means that those who want to save their lives will lose it, while those who lose their lives for the sake of Jesus and his gospel will save it.

 

Those who want to save their own lives are those who, as Luther would put it, are curved in on themselves, those who think: I know what I want, and I know what’s best, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I get everything I want, regardless of what that might mean for others. Jesus says that those with such a perspective on life actually end up losing their life. While those who live for the sake of others, those who manage, by God’s grace, and it’s only possible by God’s grace, let’s be clear on that, to open up, to begin to actually love the neighbor, those who uncurl a bit, if you will, begin to experience a whole different perspective on life. They gain a new and different kind of life, one that is no longer curved in on the self, seeking to get as much as one can for the advancement of the self, but, rather, is open to the needs of others, seeking to alleviate the suffering of others, or at least to stand with them in it, seeking the advancement of others, rejoicing in the blessings of others. In this, they lose their life for the sake of the gospel, but they gain a whole new and different kind of life…

 

When God calls, things change, though usually not in any way that is expected, and often in ways that are downright uncomfortable. So don’t worry if, when that call comes, you’re not perfect in your response. Look, Peter has his ups and downs, moments of faithfulness and moments of failure. And Abraham and Sarah laugh in God’s face when God tells them that, at the age of 100, they’re going to have a son, and through him, multitudes of descendants. The fact is, we all miss the mark at times, and it’s then that we need to remember that faithfulness is not a synonym for perfection. One can be faithful and still sin, still miss the mark, still not love God and neighbor, still not die to self for the sake of the other in every situation in life, or every time God puts us in a position to bear witness to the Gospel in word or in deed. But through it all, God stands ready to receive us as God’s own beloved children, to help us get back in line and to renew God’s saving work in our lives, granting us the gift of saving grace through faith in the crucified and risen Christ…

 

As we continue our Lenten journey together, it is my sincere prayer and my deepest hope for this community that, through our Lenten disciplines of fasting, prayer and generous sharing of our resources for the sake of the poor, God would conform us into the image of Jesus, and would, by the power of the Spirit, enliven our witness for the sake of the Gospel, and for the good of the whole world. Amen