Confession of St. Peter

The Confession of St. Peter is one of the holy days in the Church Year. On this day we hear Peter confess that Jesus is "the Messiah and Son of the Living God." And Jesus then says that Peter is the rock upon which he will  build the Church. Peter is an interesting fellow, here are some of the highlights-

• Walked on the sea, then began to sink
• At the Transfiguration, he didn't quite get the point and asked to build 3 tabernacles for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus
• Confessed Jesus as Messiah, as noted above
• Argued against the inclusion of Gentiles into the new church, then changed his mind as he was guided by the Spirit and others
• He denied Jesus three times during the Passion

Peter is a great reminder to us all that we don't have to get it all right the first time, or even the second, or the third... If the Church is founded on Jesus, then it is founded on a second chance, and a third chance, and so on. He is the hero of not giving up, of remaining faithful, of being forgiven; and that is an example we all could use, especially our political leaders in Washington. How might they be different if they tried to be like the person of Peter instead of a statue of Peter (trying to be the solid rock that is never wrong).

At Diocesan Convention last weekend, Bishop Michael Curry shared a Scottish poem in his Pastoral Address, which is a paraphrase of the servant girl's words accusing Peter of being Jesus' disciple, this was the final denial by Peter. The poem goes 

O that it might be said of me,

surely thy speech betrayeth thee,

thou wast with Jesus of Galilee.

Bishop Curry then challenged us all to be a church and individuals who looked like we have been with Jesus, so speak as if we intimately know Jesus, to live lives closer to Jesus. Peter struggled to embrace this accent which gave him away. After all, taking up your cross (and Peter literally did) is not easy work. Let us all give thanks for Peter, for second chances, and let us all seek to be transformed by Jesus in such a way that anyone that meets us on the street might say of us "thou wast with Jesus of Galilee."