Scripture Reflection, April 18: Being a Christian in the Year 110

Scripture Readings:
Acts 5: 27-32, 40-41
Psalm 30
Revelation 5: 11-14
John 21: 1-19

Often it helps to use one’s imagination in reflecting on the Scriptures. So let’s try a little thought experiment. Imagine that you are a Christian living in the year 110. You’re an ordinary believer -- not one of the famous ones -- living in Rome. You have heard the preaching of the gospel, come to faith, been baptized and become part of the Christian community in the city. This community meets for fellowship and Eucharist, not in a church, but in the house of one of its wealthier members. There is no New Testament yet, but you have heard parts of the gospels read at liturgy, as well as some of the letters of Paul. You know the story of Jesus’ preaching and teaching, his ministry of healing, his death and resurrection, and his command to take up your cross and follow him.

You also know that some of your fellow believers have been persecuted for their faith. Your life is not in immediate danger, but it is not so easy to be a follower of Jesus. You encounter persecution in less obvious forms: some people don’t do business with you anymore and some of your neighbors don’t speak to you because you belong to this “strange group.” You want to be courageous in your faith, but you are very aware of your own weakness. You are not quite ready to tackle any lions at the Colosseum!

Ordinary Christians like you need someone to remember and look up to as a model of encouragement in their efforts to be faithful Christians. Jesus is, obviously, the first model for the believer. But that seems a bit forbidding because Jesus was sinless and he is the Lord. You know very well that you are not sinless. But there is Peter – Peter, the acknowledged head of the church and famous martyr of Rome. Peter is someone with whom you and other ordinary Christians can identify.

In the Scriptures and the early tradition of the church, Peter was held up not just as a leader and hero but also as a disciple with whom people could identify. That is evident in the readings for this Sunday’s liturgy. In the Acts of the Apostles we meet Peter, the hero of the early church. He and the other apostles stand up to the local authorities at the risk of their lives. When told to stop witnessing to the good news, they reply: “We must obey God rather than human beings.” We hear that Peter and the others rejoiced because they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of Jesus’ name. This is the Peter that Christians of 110 had heard about as “the rock” – the courageous preacher of the gospel and leader of the Christian community in those difficult early days.

But Christians of that time also knew that Peter did not become this intrepid witness on his own. They knew that he had denied Jesus at the very moment when he most needed the support of his friends. The scene from the gospel of John recounts Jesus’ appointment of Peter as leader and chief shepherd of the Christian community. It also brings to mind Peter’s checkered career as a disciple, including his weakness and failure. Peter and the other disciples encounter the risen Christ by the lakeside. As usual, Peter is enthusiastic – even impetuous – as he tucks in his garment and jumps into the lake to swim to the shore. This recalls other moments of Peter’s enthusiasm, as when he said, “Lord, I’ll never deny you . . . even if all the others do.” The charcoal fire prepared by Jesus recalls the charcoal fire at Jesus’ trial scene, where Peter warmed himself and denied knowing Jesus. And then we hear the poignant dialogue between Jesus and Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. . . . Feed my lambs.” Three times.

Jesus rehabilitates Peter. He rehabilitates him through his forgiveness of Peter, his steadfast love for him, and his trust in him. His three questions to Peter evoke the memory of the three denials, but they are not barbed reminders – rubbing salt in the wound. Rather, they offer Peter an opportunity to express and confirm his love for the Lord, a response made possible by Christ’s faithful love of Peter and by his trust in him. Despite Peter’s proven weakness, Jesus entrusts him with the task of shepherding his people. Peter will realize that it is by the grace and presence of the risen Lord that he will be able to carry out this task.

This Peter, this ordinary fisherman remembered as impetuous and headstrong, prone to misunderstanding and weak under fire, was a disciple whom the Christians of 110 could turn to in their efforts to follow Jesus. The memory of Peter was a reminder to them – as it is to us – that Jesus continues to call and to work through weak and failing disciples. It is not our special worthiness that empowers us to continue his work; rather, it is the call of the Lord and his grace that enable us to give witness to our faith in Christ and to care for his people. Peter reminds us that Jesus continues to turn to us, to forgive and rehabilitate us. Despite our weakness, Jesus puts his trust in us to follow him and to continue his work in our world.

Peter is an important person for anyone who is discerning a call to service in the church. The memory of Peter shows us that Jesus does not call the perfect or even the particularly worthy to serve his people. It is Christ’s grace and love that empower and sustain anyone who is called to ministry.

This Sunday we will come to another meal with Jesus, not unlike the meal that the disciples ate with the risen Lord by the lakeshore. Jesus invites us to the table, breaks bread with us, and is vitally present to us. He trusts us and, like Peter, he calls us to follow him and to care for his people.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp