Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), Saint Peter in Tears, 1587-1596.  El Greco Museum, Toledo, Spain

 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple.  Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.  But Peter stood at the door outside.  Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.  Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?"  He said, "I am not."  Now the servants and officers who made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves.  And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.

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Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.  Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?"  He denied it and said, "I am not!"  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"  Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.

- John 18:15-18, 25-27

On Saturday we read that a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of the world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

  And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple.  Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.  But Peter stood at the door outside.  Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.   Today's lectionary reading skips us forward from John chapter 11 to chapter 18.  Jesus has been arrested and taken to the home of the high priest.  My study bible says that the other disciple is John, the author of this Gospel.  It notes that it was a common practice for an author to conceal his name in the details of his story (see 13:23; compare Mark 14:51-52; Luke 24:13, 18).

Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?"  He said, "I am not."  Now the servants and officers who made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves.  And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.   My study bible explains that a girl being the first to test Peter is viewed as an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve (Genesis 3:6).  This fallen state, it says, is overcome in Christ, when it is a woman who is the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (20:1, 11-18).

Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.  Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?"  He denied it and said, "I am not!"  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"  Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.   After his three denials of Christ, Peter will be restored via his three affirmations of love which follow the Resurrection (21:15-17).

As we enter into the Lenten season, the lectionary skips forward to Peter's denial of Jesus.  Later in this week we will read about Jesus' trial, the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, and Christ's words to His disciples at the Last Supper.  This year the cycle of Lent falls at roughly the same time across all the Churches, East and West.  This week the Western Churches begin Lent on Wednesday (called Ash Wednesday).  The Eastern Orthodox observe this week a preparatory fast where dairy is allowed, and next week begin a strict fast for Lent.  For the Oriental Orthodox, Lent begins today.  Interestingly, while Ash Wednesday's Daily Office reading is the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, in Eastern Orthodoxy this parable always falls on a Sunday that begins a three-week preparation period for Lent (called Triodion).  At any rate, across the world, Christians begin the Lenten season at this time, and our readings for today reflect this.  Both the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14) and today's reading, in which Peter denies Christ three times, give us an orientation toward the Lenten period that is essential to our faith.  Lent is a time of reflection, in which self-knowledge becomes a key to what is desired of us and what we must seek as those who stand before God in truth.  In today's reading, we have the outcome of Peter's avowed declaration that he would lay down his life for Christ's sake; at that time, Jesus predicted that Peter would betray Him three times before the rooster crowed.  See 13:36-38 for John's version of these events, which occurred at the Last Supper.  There is no doubt of Peter's sincerity when he declared he would die for Christ's sake, and yet Christ knew him better than he knew himself.  It is our Lord who knows us thoroughly, both our capabilities or capacities for faith, and our weaknesses.  Clearly, the Gospels teach us that none of us is perfect, through the experience and the growth of the disciples.  But it also teaches us about the necessity that we understand our imperfection, and also our capacity for redemption, for change and growth, and especially for repentance (literally in the Greek "change of mind").  And that's where Peter's denial of Christ comes in:  it is the witness to how little we really and truly know ourselves and the false and misleading notion of "willpower" in times of great temptation and stress.  But it is also an affirmation of the love of God, even in our weaknesses.  Lent is a traditional time for the practices which shore up faith and give us a sense that we are capable of self-mastery, of overcoming temptation and entering into a discipline of strength -- not of willpower, but of faith.  Historically, monastics were called "athletes" and the word "asceticism" comes from the Greek word for exercise.  We are in training for something.  It is not for nothing that St. Paul tells us to "fight the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12).  Fasting is one of those athletic exercises that puts us into training for something, for the ability to remember God and give something of ourselves in the strength of faith.  Together with the practice of prayer it is the most powerful weapon of faith, as prescribed by Jesus after the healing of a demoniac (Mark 9:29), and also by example in His forty day period before He began His public ministry (Matthew 4:2).   This is our model for Lent, a time of prayer and introspection, when we set things aside (as in fasting) in order to prioritize God and our faith.  Such a time of depth of prayer is a time to come to know ourselves.  In facing God, we also face our own weaknesses, we focus on where we ourselves need to shore up our strengths, and to make changes.  We seek that direction from God that dictates our lives and to which we seek to be obedient.  Above all, it is -- somewhat paradoxically -- a time to escape selfishness.  Paradoxically, because it invites us to focus on prayer, to practice a time of solitude in order to do so, to cultivate a capacity for inner stillness and focus.  But the whole purpose is a deeper communion with God, who is our strength.  And there we come back to Peter and his avowed assertion that he would die for Christ.  Here, humiliatingly, it is before a girl that he lapses into denial, and it throws his whole character and his notions of himself into vivid relief.  In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke we're told that Peter wept afterward (Matthew 26:75, Mark 14:72, Luke 22:62).  Lent is the time when we are taught to focus on our own communion with God, the strength and shape of our faith, so to speak.  It is a time to make more time for that communion, for prayer, for making space for God's work in us, including personal change that might be asked of us, and recognition of our own weaknesses.  If the Church is a hospital, as it is so often depicted throughout the centuries of tradition behind it, then Lent is a time for medicine, healing, retreat, rest in God, and the prayer that relieves what ails us.   Let us enter in and consider this most essential part of our lives, upon which all else rests.  El Greco's portrait of St. Peter in tears captures the moment after realization of Peter's failure.  Let us note that Peter, great disciple that he is, looks toward God in prayer.  On his wrist, reminding us of his confession of faith on behalf of all, are the keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16:15-19).  Let us remember how much rests on the strength of our faith, and where that strength comes from in the first place, as Peter's humble and illumined eyes - in deep recognition of truth -  turn toward God in prayer.  This is the place for healing.  Peter sets an example for all of us.