The Interrupting Rooster
Being human with Peter
John 18:15-27 | Psalm 51:1-6
So many people can identify with this story about Peter, perhaps as much as any story in the gospels. Just a couple of hours before, Peter was reclining with Jesus, soaking up all the wisdom, love, and inspiration that the Lord gave off as he washed his feet, established the Table, and gave encouragement about the coming Spirit and unity of the Church.
…and there goes Peter, denying he even knows him.
Who among us hasn’t left a church worship service or a spiritual retreat weekend or some other inspirationally formative time…and honked at the first driver who dared look at us wrong? How easy is it to so quickly forget the love and conviction of God in the midst of difficulty…or even in the midst of lesser things that just bug us?
Oh, we know what’s coming in Peter’s restoration in chapter 21 and all the love, forgiveness, and grace that there abounds. But for now, we are human with Peter and all too familiar with the rude interruption that comes from the sound of a rooster.
John 18:15-27
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Because this other disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard. However, Peter stood outside near the gate. Then the other disciple (the one known to the high priest) came out and spoke to the woman stationed at the gate, and she brought Peter in. The servant woman stationed at the gate asked Peter, “Aren’t you one of this man’s disciples?”
“I’m not,” he replied. The servants and the guards had made a fire because it was cold. They were standing around it, warming themselves. Peter joined them there, standing by the fire and warming himself.
Meanwhile, the chief priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered, “I’ve spoken openly to the world. I’ve always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews gather. I’ve said nothing in private. Why ask me? Ask those who heard what I told them. They know what I said.”
After Jesus spoke, one of the guards standing there slapped Jesus in the face. “Is that how you would answer the high priest?” he asked.
Jesus replied, “If I speak wrongly, testify about what was wrong. But if I speak correctly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him, bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing with the guards, warming himself. They asked, “Aren’t you one of his disciples?”
Peter denied it, saying, “I’m not.”
A servant of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said to him, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.
Psalm 51:1-6
Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
purify me from my sin!
Because I know my wrongdoings,
my sin is always right in front of me.
I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
completely correct when you issue your judgment.
Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
from the moment my mother conceived me.
And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.
Prayer
God,
Help me in my faithfulness. I want to be faithful to you, Jesus, and the person of Christ. Give me fortitude. Keep my vision clear and sure. I know I won’t avoid distractions in life, but help me see them as opportunities and annoyances.
Keep me sweet and when I become sour, make me sweet again. Create in me what you want.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.