To see ourselves more clearly

Simon Peter asked, “Master, just where are you going?”

Jesus answered, “You can’t now follow me where I’m going. You will follow later.”

“Master,” said Peter, “why can’t I follow now? I’ll lay down my life for you!”

“Really? You’ll lay down your life for me? The truth is that before the rooster crows, you’ll deny me three times.”

- John 13:36-38

Peter's confidence & enthusiasm are so relatable. How many times do we set out believing our good intentions will be enough to help us make the change, achieve the goal, or love the neighbor?

These sobering words from Jesus must have stung Peter to hear and stung Jesus to say out loud.

They remind us of what it means to be human - of how quickly we turn to what is safe over showing up for others - of how easily we abandon the priorities and people that matter most in favor of what is convenient.

Holy week is a good week to be honest about our limitations: where are we struggling to live into the liberating way of Jesus? How are we stuck in patterns that are harming instead of helping us love?

It is also a good week to notice something about Jesus:

He never shames Peter.

He simply helps Peter to see himself more clearly. In John, seeing was the doorway to healing, to loving and to being returned to right relationship. It was the pathway toward liberation.

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God who gives sight to the blind, help us to see ourselves more clearly and to see through the eyes of Love, not shame. Amen.

Song for reflection: Amazing Grace / House of Rising Sun by Sarah Sparks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ2D78XKmDI

Art: Cambridge Stations of the Cross 4: Peter denies Jesus commissioned by Westcott House.