Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly

 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"  Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly.

- Matthew 26:69-75

Yesterday we read that those who had seized Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.  But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard.  And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.  Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.  But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"  And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But Jesus kept silent.  And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God:  Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you said.  Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy!  What further need do we have of witnesses?  Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!  What do you think?"  They answered and said, "He is deserving of death."  Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck You?" 

  Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  My study bible comments that there is an echo or an icon here of Adam's temptation by Eve (Genesis 3:6), as a girl is the first to test Peter in this scene.  This fallen state is overcome when it is women who are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).

And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"  Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly.  Peter's speech betrays him as he speaks with the accent of a Galilean, like Christ.  In this reading, Jesus prophesied Peter's denial of Him this night, in the midst of Peter's vehement denials.  When the rooster crowed, Peter came to himself, and went out and wept bitterly.  My study bible quotes St. Ambrose of Milan, who wrote that "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."

The rooster's crow is truly a "wake up call" for Peter.  It is a time when he comes to himself, understands himself, wakes up to himself -- and realizes Christ's prophesy as correct.  Tears are signs of truth, one that is faced and transformed through recognition, grappled with.  Peter's not only realizing that what Christ said about his own weakness was correct, but that Peter's grand understanding of his capacity for heroism was wrong.  He capitulates in front of a servant girl.  We can hardly blame Peter entirely for the terror of this night.  He is the one who drew the sword to defend Christ in the garden (identified in John 18:10), whereby Jesus told him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword," and assuring him that if He desired, the Father would defend Him with legions of angels.   It seems that Peter simply cannot grasp what is happening.  He is, after all, the one who insisted that Christ will not die, to which Christ responded, "Get behind Me, Satan!" (16:22-23).  Through this experience, Peter must come to terms with several different things, and it's illustrative of our own transformative processes that may take place within our faith.  First, there is his own weakness, despite his declaration to Jesus that "even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  And, after Jesus' prophesy that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crows, Peter said,  "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" (see this reading).   He has a faith in himself that comes from not knowing his own human weakness.  Secondly, he doubts even the prophecy of Christ regarding his own vulnerability.  Finally, there are the bitter tears of recognition and truth -- and the repentance that comes with them.  It's very important that we take all of these things in the context of our own journeys of faith, and the process of salvation.  We're not simply fully healed in a flash, we don't come to the fullness of union and salvation automatically, and there is really no bypassing all the steps in this process of coming to reconcile ourselves not only with Christ and His vision for us, but the recognition of our own weaknesses and things that need changing along the way.  Peter trusted in himself that he surely would never let Christ down, and when it comes time for his own death, so it will be a sacrificial, humble, and heroic one.  But in this circumstance in today's reading, there is so much more that he must learn, and endure, and grow through along the way to becoming the powerful leader among the apostles that he will become.  Thus, Peter remains such an important example of those among whom we choose to grow in our own faith, whose own experience must inform us about the powerful healing journey of faith.  There are sometimes heartbreaking truths we must accept, sometimes things we won't be able to control and things that will go the opposite way of what we think it perfect and right.  Humility can be an exceptionally tough lesson to learn.  But through it all, we have our own tears of recognition and reconciliation and acceptance -- and our own way to grow through such experiences and the fullness of who we are and can become in Christ's love.  We will all make mistakes along the way.  Let us be truly thankful that the love of God sees us through all of our own stumbling, blindness, shortcomings, through the gift of faith.