Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times

 Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."   And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.

- Mark 14:66-72

Yesterday, we read that Jesus was led away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.  But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest.  And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.  Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.  Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.'"  But not even then did their testimony agree.  And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But He kept silent and answered nothing.  Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  Jesus said, "I am.  And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?  You have heard the blasphemy!  What do you think?"  And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.  Then some begin to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!"  And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.

  Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."   And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.   For today's reading, we must go back to the time before Jesus' arrest, when Peter swore to Jesus, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  At that time, Jesus told him, "Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."   (See All of you will be made to stumble because of Me.)  Peter's response to Jesus was to say more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  But in today's reading, we see that when confronted by a servant girl, he denies that he has any idea what she is talking about.

And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."   My study bible says that "of all the remaining faithful disciples, Peter and John (see John 18:15-16) alone have the courage to follow Jesus.  Peter denies the Lord, but at least he is there to do so.  His intentions are commendable, but his strength fails."

And when he thought about it, he wept.  A note here tells us:  "All of us fail; Peter bursts into tears of repentance over his denial (for his restoration by Christ, see 16:7 and John 21:15-17).

Acceptance can be a great blessing.  Too often it seems that we focus on what we can change, what we can achieve, what we want, what our goals in life are, without taking into account that there are things with which we contend in the world -- or in ourselves -- which we cannot change.  Here, Peter expresses his weakness; weakness, that is, without the help of God in his life.  He can't rely on his own strength to be the person that he wishes he were.  Faith is a powerful energy, a source of incredible strength, but it is not ours to make or build alone and isolated within ourselves.  It is a "work" that happens through the power of God at work in us, along with our "yes" to it.  And that is also where acceptance comes in.  In programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, and other Twelve Step programs which have come about through it, the first step is to accept one's powerlessness over something.  It leads to a reliance on God, or a "higher power" as we understand it.  In this case, the first step for Peter, in his tears of bitter repentance, is an acceptance of his own weakness, despite his resolution that he would die for Christ.  Acceptance isn't just about surrendering to one's weaknesses in life, but rather it is about facing courageously what is, especially the things that we cannot change.  So often in life we will find our own plans thwarted, or ourselves in disappointment, through things we cannot change.  We cannot change other people upon whom we may have depended who have let us down.  We can't change the decisions others may make for our harm.  We may find ourselves powerless -- by ourselves -- over the weaknesses we all face as human beings, just as we are powerless often times over physical weakness in ourselves and others, the frailty and susceptibility to illness of any kind.  Acceptance in all of these circumstances becomes a powerful "first step" in reminding ourselves of our need for faith, and more particularly in our need for God at every step of our lives.  We may not have all the answers, we don't see things in God's perspective, we don't know the outcome of every situation.  But we do have the answer to what we don't know, and that is faith.  Faith and acceptance are the tools that come to us in order to cope with and face our true reality, to escape from our delusions about ourselves or anything or anyone else, and to restore us to right-relatedness -- to the place in which we need to be with God and with neighbor.  Peter's response to burst into tears is a good one, it is a sign of acceptance, so that he can, in fact, be strengthened in faith, and return to Christ.   As a powerful apostle, he will, in fact, eventually do as he swore he would, he will die for Christ -- with Christ -- and for the Gospel.  It is faith - through acceptance -- that will allow and help him to do so.  Acceptance also assures us of the way to faith, because accepting our own weaknesses or lack of control over life also teaches us to accept God's help in leading us forward.  Peter's example shines in the Gospel, in this sad or almost pathetic story of weakness before a servant girl (not a flattering light!) so that we may know he, too, has been there with us.  He will go on to lead the apostles and the Church.  Let us remember the humility and acceptance in that, the powerful story that is here for us as example, in this man who will go on to become a great saint.