THE APOSTLE PETER IN THREE MOMENTS

The Apostle Peter had to go through a long and painful journey before becoming the great man he was, in front of the Church of his day. When he was chosen by Jesus to lead the Church (John 21: 15-17), he was only one defeated, for at the time of Christ's arrest he had denied Him three times (Luke 22: 54-62). His history, however, is that of many Christians, who begin in romanticism come to the truth about themselves until they are restored by Jesus and begin to live in dependence on the Spirit.

It is common to see immature Christians declaring love to God through words and songs sung with great emotion. Not that this is wrong, but it is required a consciousness of what is said, of what is sung and of the commitment assumed (Ecclesiastes 5: 1-6). Pedro, in his romantic phase, was also like this. He once said to Jesus, "we have left everything to follow you" (Mark 10:28). On another occasion, after Jesus washed the disciples' feet, on his last night with them, Peter told him, "I will lay down my life for you" (John 13:37). It was also he who cut off the ear of one of those who went to arrest Jesus.

But that daring and brave Peter, who always had a word ready in his mouth, will soon discover who he truly is: a fearful one. The same night he said he would give his life for Jesus, he denied being His disciple three times. In the third, after the rooster crowing, Jesus looked at him and then "went out from there, wept bitterly" (Luke 22:62). It is very painful when one encounters oneself, when one sees the masks fall and one sees the person who really is. A sense of disappointment and deep disgust sets in, for he discovers that he is not who he thinks he is.

The great Apostle was devastated, but not only him, for at the moment of Christ's arrest "everyone deserted him and fled" (Mark 14:50). But Jesus, in their immense love for them, forgave them and restored them. The Apostle John recorded in his gospel that He, after his resurrection, appeared to the disciples on the shores of the sea of Tiberias and invited them to a morning coffee in a gesture of love, friendship and fellowship. The divine presence unveils the intimate of man, but if this surrender to the love that it exhales, it will live the experience of being transformed.

After that encounter with the resurrected Christ and after the Holy Spirit's descent on Pentecost, those men were never the same. Peter became an eloquent preacher so much that in just two sermons he promoted an increase of the Church from 120 to 5,000 men (Acts 1: 15,21,4,4). For having healed a cripple who was always at the door of the temple, he was arrested and taken to the Sanhedrin. Before that Supreme Court of Israel, he spoke boldly defying those authorities when he affirmed that he would not fail to preach Jesus Christ, whom they killed. According to Tertullian and Origen, parents of the early church, because of his testimony of Christ died crucified upside down in Rome during the persecution of Christians promoted by Emperor Nero in the year 68 AD.

Antônio Maia – M.Div.

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PHOTO: "Call of Peter and Andrew" by Caravaggio