Luke 22:54-71 (Click here for text)
It is very easy to speak of commitment and to make brave statements about what we believe. We will never really know what we are committed to until our backs are against the wall and there is a real cost to pay for what we believe in. It is when the cost comes to bear that we find out what we really believe in. Even then, it is part of a process. How we feel about the decision we have made - will we be able to live with ourselves and the choices we have taken? Working through these choices is the subtext of this reading.
Peter - after all his bravado - finds that he cannot stand. But then when he falls, he finds he cannot do that either. He learns, taught by a short prediction of Jesus followed by a quick glance, what both sides of the decision feel like. The boldness of standing next to Jesus and the cowardice of running away. This lesson is a difficult one for us all to learn and can we ever say we have fully 'chosen' to stand by Jesus until the end.
Jesus, in his responses to the Pharisees, attempts the same kind of dialogue. They are only interested in finding a charge to bring against Jesus before Pilate so that the judicial processes in place swing into place and dispose of this troublesome man! Jesus, in contrast, does not seek to defend Himself but to engage them with their own behaviour and attitudes. He refers to the scriptures in understanding His Messiahship, He points out to them their own accusations and the testimony of the people. In other Gospels, Jesus talks of the openness of His teaching and exposes their underhand tactics in dealing with Him.
Jesus is being denied and set-up. He is being beaten and humiliated. But He never responds in kind or out of fear. He has fought His battle in the Garden and set His face to expect no different.
No comments:
Post a Comment