The Rock

Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus answered, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterwards.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.

- John 13:36-38

Peter is in some ways the most fascinating apostle. As a character in literature, he interests me because of his vacillating character and his emotional and volatile nature. When Jesus, earlier in this scene in the Last Supper, begins to wash the feet of his apostles, Peter at first declares that he will not stand for the Lord to do such a lowly thing. Then, when Jesus explains that he must do this thing, Peter exclaims that Jesus must therefore wash not only his feet but also his hands and his head. Of all the contradictions and opposites that abound in the gospels, we must also take note of Simon Peter, whom Jesus has called "Rock."

This particular passage however goes far beyond merely Peter's volatile and emotional nature, because this passage foretells a betrayal in the form of denial. We can put it down to cowardice and weakness - again the product of someone whose emotions are easily given into. Peter is the one who asked Jesus to command him also to walk on water (in Matthew's gospel version of the story) and who immediately sank in fear. But Peter is, as all of the gospels and their characters seem to be, a metaphor for us - for our own volatile and emotional natures and also for the transformation that comes through Spirit and through faith. Just as Christ's presence enabled him to regain his peace of mind in the story of the boat and the rough seas in Matthew, so we have a metaphor for the peace of Christ and our own emotional natures.

Jesus himself says his soul is troubled at his fate - but that he nevertheless has chosen to follow the will of his Father and meet the fate set out as that which is best for his ministry. But Peter, although he swears his great allegiance to the death, not only denies Jesus but does so after he attempts to follow him, outside the door to the Palace of the high priest. And yet, Jesus has predicted as well that Peter will follow him eventually. We know both the fate of Peter (crucifixion) and his tremendous transformation into leadership of the apostles via Spirit. And so, both Peter's nature as "Rock" and his following in Christ's footsteps are real and become eventualities in this story of this volatile and emotional man. Furthermore we can read into Jesus' prediction the idea that Peter will follow to where Jesus is in the afterlife with the Father as well.

This denial is within all of us. We all hold the potential for cowardice before "the world" (even before a servant girl). I consider it one of the greatest gifts of scripture that we have this example of Peter, our Rock, who is all too human and who becomes the Rock as was predicted. Do we rely on faith and the Spirit for courage to face life, despite our trials and our emotions? We should accept that we as humans will always have our emotional natures, but we also have a Friend to help us through them - to guide us despite our fears. And to forgive us for our failings.

In his first epistle, Peter quotes from Leviticus:

'Be holy, for I am holy'