Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified

fresco, Mileseva Monastery, 1234

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterwards Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.

- Mark 16:1-20

This passage begins with the women who are going to the tomb, to anoint Jesus' body. Jewish custom was to anoint, not to embalm. They purchase the spices themselves, and - in accordance with their devout disposition - have waited until after the sabbath is over before doing so. As we reviewed in yesterday's commentary, these are women who have followed and served and helped throughout Christ's ministry. Mary Magdalene is a follower who has been healed through exorcism, Mary the mother of James and Salome are mothers of apostles (respectively, of James the Less and John and James Zebedee). Each of these women has been with Jesus through his ministry in Galilee and has followed him to Jerusalem. It is telling that while the apostles are scattered, it is these women who boldly do their work of anointing, continuing to follow and to minister to Christ.

If we understand this kingdom to be one in which "the least of these" are of the greatest significance, then we must understand from these gospels the importance given to these women. The great apostles and disciples are in disarray, in hiding and in mourning, but these women continue openly to serve, following Christ and declaring their love by their acts even into death. In the Christian sense of understanding, the acts of these women must be seen as those who rank equal to the apostles, even if they are not called so. Their action of anointing, along with the woman at Bethany, will not be forgotten.

When they arrive at the tomb, the stone is rolled away! This was a sign to them that the tomb is empty. They walk in and are greeted by a man dressed in white. This, as we know, is an angel, a herald, a messenger. Jesus has risen -- see the place where he was. They are to go proclaim the news to the apostles - and Peter - that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee and there they will see him. Again, we must recall that our Christian orientation is to understand that these women are rewarded as the first to whom the good news is revealed. The verses 9-19 have been omitted from the daily reading today, but they can be found here. Although not always included, they have always been considered to be canonical. In those verses, we are told that Mary Magdalene, out of whom was cast seven demons, is the very first person to whom Christ appears in his risen form. Her faith has marked her place forever in this sense, with a special place in the memory of the Church.

We must also note that when the angel speaks to the women, he tells them that they must inform the apostles "and Peter" of the news of Jesus' resurrection. "And Peter" informs us of the forgiveness specifically noted after Peter's denial, and it is a message for everyone of the love of God and the place for each of us who sincerely wish to share in God's love through repentance. Participation means relationship; metanoia or "repentance" will always be a matter of turning back again our minds and hearts to this place of relationship, reconsidering and returning to right releatedness to God and community. We remember Jesus' pronouncement of the two greatest commandments: to love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind, to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we return to the Lord in relationship through repentance, it is these commandments we are following that establishes us once again in right-relatedness. That Jesus tells them to go to Galilee, a place where many Gentiles lived, where he will meet them, is the sign that this mission is spread to the entire world. Everyone is included in this good news.

And finally, the great extension of the commission: Jesus, were are told, ascends to the right hand of the Father. He is seated in his place as Lord and Son, yet he is still with us as our brother who has shared our lives and shares a place in our hearts. The mission upon which all are sent is one in which Jesus continues to work together with those who follow and believe. "The least of us" must continue to work and live in faith, and remembrance. One never knows what an act of faith may lead to in its significance, in this kingdom where the last shall be first. We recall the torn curtain in the temple, signifying the relationship established, the veil between God and man opened and grace extended. Our gospel of Mark ends here.

The day of Preparation

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

- Mark 15:40-47

In this passage, we get a sense of people involved with Jesus' ministry who are not mentioned as key figures throughout the gospels. But they are important nevertheless, in rounding out the picture of participation and of those who follow Jesus.

First of all there are the mothers of disciples and other women who were with Jesus in his ministry, who have followed him to Jerusalem. These women were with him in his ministry in Galilee, helping and providing, and many have followed Jesus to Jerusalem. Mary Magdalene is a follower, while Mary the Mother of James the Younger and Joses is most likely the mother of James Alphaeus, and Salome the mother of John and James Zebedee. James Alphaeus (also called James the Less) and John and James Zebedee were members of the twelve. Just as they followed and helped in the ministry, so they have followed and stayed with the Lord from afar, and they will continue to actively serve and help though others have scattered, and play a key role in what is to come.

Joseph of Arimathea is another figure whose mention in the gospels is significant. He was a member of the council, the Sanhedrin, who was sympathetic to Jesus' message. He went boldly to Pilate, we are told, and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate is stunned that this prisoner has passed so quickly; usually those that were crucified last much longer in their torture and suffering before death. Joseph comes for Jesus' body, wraps it in a linen cloth and takes it to the tomb he has provided. In this important way, we see those we'd not normally consider to be central players in this ministry - as they have not played a key role so far in these gospels - who act with great courage. The disciples are scattered, yet these faithful - the women and Joseph who is a member of the Sanhedrin - take bold steps at Jesus' death, claiming his body and caring for what must be done. I feel that it is very important that we have this information. Joseph of Arimathea is not just important because of his role in the provision of a tomb, but because his presence and action convey that not all the council is hostile to Jesus. And, we are told he is an important member of the Sanhedrin. Tradition holds that Joseph of Arimathea would go on to evangelize the British Isles.

So, as the disciples are scattered, the importance of those seen as playing "lesser," supporting roles in this ministry is emphasized, through their willingness to step up and care for Jesus' body, and to minister to him even in death. We will see shortly how these figures then come to play an awesome role in this story, and by inference, how each of us can make a difference whether we understand ourselves to be important or significant to ministry in any way. Just as the woman at Bethany was to anoint Jesus' feet before his burial and play so significant a role in events that were to come via this act, so Joseph of Arimathea and these women will play a decisive role in the most transcendent event in the gospels. It is a telling story, that gives us a sense of what is significant and what is not -- that indeed this kingdom is not about who is great but about the greatness that faith can create, and what a difference any of our actions can make.

Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’

- Mark 15:33-39

At noon, we are told, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ At this time, darkness came over the whole land, until about 3 P.M. Yesterday I mentioned the practice of praying the hourly offices, a practice continued from Jewish tradition. In this prayer practice, prayers are said at three hour intervals. Noon is considered the sixth hour, 3 P.M. the ninth - each interval marks a time of prayer. In the Christian practice, we recall these events at the times of prayer. My study bible has a note, saying that when the Creator suffers, the creation suffers with him, as Jesus hangs suspended on a cross: "the lights of heaven hide themselves and are darkened." In the Greek text, it is written that Jesus "breathed out" - indicating by its form a voluntary act of "giving up the ghost." (The word pneuma means both "breath" and "spirit." Here it is written in the verb form, to breathe.)

The curtain of the temple is torn in two, symbolically giving us a sense of the curtain between the holy and mankind being forever torn through this death that unites Creator with created. And, too, for me, it suggests grief at what is done to the Creator of all, this murder by crucifixion. How can God die? How can God share with us all the limits and extremes of human life, even through death? This is the great mystery of that cross, coming together at this hour we remember when we pray. Jesus' words, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which mean, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ are the words of prayer. He is praying Psalm 22, which prefigures the crucifixion. I think it's important to read the full psalm, to understand what is being prayed, and what is understood at this time. The paradox of crucifixion will always be with us: is it we who abandon the Lord or we who are abandoned in separation? That torn curtain beckons us toward unity, and to grief at our separation.

The centurion pronounces his verdict, in what remains for me a question of what this man observed, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’ I wonder about a soldier who routinely watches men die this horrible death of crucifixion, and what he witnessed in Jesus that moved him so to faith. Surely it cements the understanding of a voluntary death, of someone who has accepted all that life put before him, and the way to unite Creator with created.

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.

But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
“He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.

Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
They gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.

But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
Deliver Me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog.
Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!

You have answered Me.

I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.

My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.
Let your heart live forever!

All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
For the kingdom is the LORD’s,
And He rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.

A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.

- Psalm 22

Come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe

Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

- Mark 15:22-32

Jesus' humiliation continues with more mocking, derision, and brutality. In this horrific place, the place of the skull, they offer him wine mixed with myrrh to help to dull his pain and suffering, but this he refuses. He is going the whole way through his suffering of the torments the world has to offer. He will share them all with us without dulling himself to the harm and evil and pain of the world. The soldiers cast lots for his clothing and possessions, which was their right as the squad of executioners. There is nothing left to him of his own, save his Person, his reality, his identity. And that is derided and mocked. The division of and casting lots for his clothing is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalm 22:18.

"The King of the Jews" is the inscription on the cross, in the place where charges were usually written against the prisoners being executed. Crucifixion, which was a horrible means of execution, was reserved for rebellious slaves, violent criminals, and those charged with high treason. For the Jewish authorities, Jesus is condemned for blasphemy. But he is executed by the Roman authorities as a potential political agitator. Ironically, it is Barabbas, the insurrectionist, who has been given a reprieve by the crowds instead of Jesus.

We are told here that two bandits are crucified on either side of Jesus. My study bible notes that the ancient Jewish historian Josephus defines robbers as insurrectionists, that is, militant nationalist Jews who fought against Romans and Jewish collaborators. So, there is one more layer of irony and contradiction in this story of who is reprieved and who has been crucified. We are also told that those who pass by him mock him - the crowd continues in its derision and humiliation of Jesus, even at this lowest moment of catastrophic hurt and spiritual disaster. And so do the chief priests and scribes, claiming that if he saved himself now they would believe! And the robbers who are crucified with him do so also. There is nowhere for Jesus to find comfort. He is alone in this darkest hour. Mark says he is crucified in the "third hour" or 9:00 A.M. (The gospel of John puts it closer to noon.) This story is very specific, but the behaviors we read are all so known to us; they are universal.

Those who are familiar with the rules of prayer understand the third hour to be one of the times of the hourly offices. I often use these practices, which are continued from Jewish tradition, for myself. At this hour, I will remember this moment of crucifixion, and pray to be aware of the ways in which the world responds to truth and to goodness with derision, harm, brutality. We pray that the Person of Jesus be with us to sanctify, even in the darkest of hours, the way we are to go forward and to live our lives, and to guide our steps as he has been through it all before us. This sad, brutal hour should be remembered as the time our Lord gave himself so fully to us; God - according to what we read in these gospels and in the person of Jesus - has gone to the depths of human experience so that his life is forever shared with us. We remember that, in accordance with the teachings we have read, it is not the world that defiles, but the Lord who sanctifies, wherever we are.

Hail, King of the Jews!

Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?’ They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

- Mark 15:12-21

Pilate wishes to please the crowd. Although he understands very well that Jesus has been brought to him out of envy, in the end Pilate pleases envy. He doesn't want to go against that crowd shouting, "Crucify him!"

Jesus is then taken away by the soldiers, after being flogged (or "scourged," with a Roman whip consisting of several leather strips with small pieces of bone and lead at the tips). The soldiers abuse their prisoner who is condemned to die on the cross: he is subjected to mockery by the entire cohort. They put a purple robe on him, fit for royalty, give him a crown of thorns, hit his head with a reed and spit upon him. Finally, they kneel down in mock homage: "Hail, the King of the Jews!" mimicking the salute to Caesar.

A passerby is then compelled, on the way to Golgotha, to carry Jesus' cross for him - this is Simon of Cyrene, the father of two sons who will become followers later on.

One gets the impression from these scenes of the brutality of power that we still have with us: prisoners who are abused, easy rulings to appease public mobs or opinions swayed by demagoguery or emotional appeals done deliberately for some sort of favor to be granted. We're all familiar with the notion of the mob, the individual who may be innocent yet alone in his quest or stand before justice. The easy appeal to a leader who would rather appease a mob or pressure from those who control it to some extent, the inertia that takes over large institutions where decisions are made that hold people's lives in the balance. The abuse of the prisoner, the seemingly routine brutality without reason except to abuse, to cause despair, to crush. All of these are familiar to us in one way or another. Jesus endures them all, and truly "takes on all our sins" through his endurance of what is unjust, undeserved -- brutality, violence, cowardice in the name of expediency, and at the root, the envy that so characterized the notion of evil in its absolute state: that of Lucifer's rebellion against God. Jesus will endure all the evils of the world loosed archetypally from rebellion against God and how they play out to this day in our world. His "Way" offers us the way out of that scheme, the antidote to the things that he is enduring in this scene and endures where we remember his life and his gift for us. When we endure, we are to remember all that he took on for us, and live as he lived in faith, and remember that there is no better thing we do for the world than offer our own gift of faith, our effort to heal a broken and brutal world, given to violence, cowardice and despair.

When we call for our Lord to be with us, we recall all that he endured, and we ask also that he be with us in time of trial for whatever we endure in the world. It is the best way, in my opinion, to undo its evils and to call for justice, and Judgment. To endure in faith is to overcome, and to see a way forward and into the future.

Are you the King of the Jews?

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’ Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.’ But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.

- Mark 15:1-11

My study bible has many notes on this text which I find quite interesting and helpful. First of all, it is suggested that the leadership of the temple, the chief priests, elders and scribes, had a consultation with the whole council in the morning because night trials - such as the one that Jesus has been through - were not allowed by law. The Sanhedrin wishes to reach the decision officially in the morning in order to evade the law which has been broken.

Pilate was the Roman procurator of Judea during the years A.D. 26-36. According to Jewish law, the Sanhedrin has found Jesus worthy of death under the charge of blasphemy. But Jewish law does not prevail under Roman rule; therefore the charge is now amended. Jesus is accused of calling himself King - this would be a charge of treason against Caesar under Roman rule. The charge made now by the Jewish leaders before Pilate therefore is a political one, not religious. Pilate asks, "Are you the King of the Jews?" for this reason. Jesus' answer, to my modern American English-speaking ears, is a rather strange one: "You say so." But, my study bible notes, this answer is really an indirect affirmative answer. I read that this is tantamount, in the original understanding, to saying, "It is as you say." However, Jesus is accused of many other things (so we are told) to which he makes no answer whatsoever. The distinction, I read, is between false and true charges: Jesus admits to his identity both in the trial with the temple leadership and before Pilate. To false charges he remains silent.

Barabbas and his fellow rebels, I am told, are Jewish nationalists who have already participated in some local insurrection against the Romans. Interestingly, Barabbas means "son of Abba" or literally, "son of the father." In a variant reading for Matt. 27:16, the name "Jesus" is also attributed to Barabbas. So, we have many shadows - and blacks and whites - in this reading. False testimony and true, false charges and true, culminating in the distinction between the violent rebel who is set free and Jesus who is condemned to die. In a time of evil and injustice, logic and truth are stood on their heads, one substitutes for another and confusion reigns.

Pilate, at least, schooled in the schools of power and politics, is canny enough to understand that the peaceful Jesus who does not make a defense has been handed over out of envy. He offers Jesus to the crowds to be reprieved. But the crowds have been stirred up by the leadership. My study bible notes that most likely this is a crowd gathered in the morning of their own supporters. However, it's important to note how the gospels generally treat the notion of "crowds" (or "mobs"). They are fickle at best and often completely wrong; popularity rarely has much to do with truth. A note in my study bible says, "The crowd follows the crowd. It loves good teaching and prophetic insight, but avoids discipleship, suffering and perseverance." It also notes that most likely this crowd is different from the one that welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem, and that it's not the general populace feared by the Jewish leaders. But no doubt some of these same people were ones that praised him days before on Palm Sunday. The cross always comes down to our individual choices, and the reality of what is in the heart. Movements of the masses, of popular opinion or the latest idea are not the center of where we live in the place where God dwells with us. That is a different place of choice and revelation of who we truly are.

Which choice do we make? In a time of trial, of chaos and confusion, of violence and envy, of stirred up feelings false and true, where black is white and white is black, where do we stand and find our center? Where the false mimics the true, and accuses the true of falsehood, where is the center? Where do we find truth?

At that moment, the cock crowed for the second time

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’ At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.

- Mark 14:66-72

Yesterday's passage told us that Peter had followed Jesus at a distance, into the courtyard of the high priest, where Peter sat at the fire with the guards. While Jesus has endured a trial inside, with false witnesses testifying against him and contradicting themselves, Peter has been outside in the courtyard. Jesus' prediction that the "sheep would scatter" is true; Mark tells us there was one young man who followed but was caught and driven off (often assumed to be Mark himself), and the gospels also tell us that of the remaining loyal disciples, only Peter and John have the courage to follow Jesus. In this passage, we are given to understand that Peter has waited outside with the guards and servants, warming himself by the fire, while Jesus is inside.

What takes place here is Peter's famous denial of Christ, as was predicted quite literally and specifically by Jesus himself. 'Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times,' he said. We recall that Jesus said these words in response to Peter's sworn allegiance, even unto death. Here Peter comes to terms with his own weaknesses, as he realizes that he has done just that. He denies Jesus three times before he hears the cock's second crowing.

We are told that even before a servant girl, he does not admit to knowing Jesus. When Peter realizes what he has done, he breaks down and weeps, in perhaps the most famous denial of all religious history. Peter, our Rock (so named by Jesus) has also given us the great example of human weakness. We all fail, my study bible reminds me, and the important lesson here is really not about failure, but about how our natures and weaknesses betray us and are with us all the time. Yet, weakness and all, our embrace and love within the relationship to our Creator is complete. Peter's recognition of his own failure means that he will come to repentance; his tears teach us about regret and repentance, and what it is to let ourselves down in failure. 'The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.'

If faith is the trust we place in relationship to the Person of God, then truly our repentance for having failed that relationship is the sign that we wish to cement it, to continue in that relationship. If betrayal is something we dismiss as unimportant, then this is a sign that the relationship itself is not of great importance to us. So, I think there is a crucial emphasis placed on repentance for a very important reason: our humility is a necessary factor in relationship, and especially in relationships of love - as opposed to those of convenience, exploitation, convention, social conditioning, etc. A relationship of love will always require us to be aware of our weaknesses, and to seek to do better when we let our loved ones down. All weakness must be forgivable; if this were not so, which of us could remain in relationship? Therefore, the willingness to know ourselves and to come to repentance signifies the willingness and the desire to remain in relationship. It can be interpreted, in some sense, as the sign to God - and to those whom we love - that we care, we wish always to remain in that relationship of love.

So, the importance of repentance in religious thought and in Christian tradition signifies, if seen in this perspective, as a sign to God that we wish to remain in that relationship of faith. We are aware of our weaknesses, and we come to terms with them by simply repenting. The times we let down ourselves, and others about whom we care, will be myriad. We are not created perfect as the angels in heaven, nor were we meant to be. Sin and evil in the world mean that there are myriad temptations to our weaknesses, the problem is further complicated by what Jesus called the 'time of trial.' For this reason, we 'watch and pray,' so that we may remain alert. So the tools of Christian tradition, repentance and prayer, are important for one reason: because they are the ways in which we maintain relationship to God. They are the ways in which we maintain - we signal our deep desire - for a loving, trusting relationship to God. This is the rock of faith. Peter's coming to terms with his own weaknesses establishes for us all the "rock" of the foundation of the church. First, before all things, is faith - a loving and trusting relationship to God. And from that faith come our works.

The man who would become the leader of the apostles is also the one who remains forever understood as the one who would deny his master. We must remember that our great strength is not in what we would call "perfection." It is rather, in the desire to continue and grow in that relationship, in faith, and from there we take our strength. We are here, not to be perfect in some sense of absolute conduct and understanding, but rather to "become perfect" in the sense that we are ever growing in that relationship, coming to terms with our weakness and growing in the fruits that come from that relatedness and faith. Peter's strength - including the name given him of "Rock" - will come from that faith and that relatedness; once the Spirit comes, we will see the great Rock himself and his courage before others, to the very end of his life, as exemplary.