A Rock and A Hard Place - June 30
Today’s Readings: Psalm 106:1-18; 1 Samuel 10:17-27; Acts 7:44-8:1a; Luke 22:52-62
“I know this to be true: The world doesn’t get great unless we all get better.” Jacqui Lewis
Today’s gospel reading has always been one of the most heartbreaking for me of all the gospel stories. Every time I read it, I imagine the guilt and horrific shame Peter must have felt. This has been an ongoing dilemma in relationships since the beginning of time. Knowing the right thing to do and doing it can often be light years apart.
As adolescents age into adulthood they quite often are faced with this same choice. Bullying is nothing new. It has been part of the fabric of growing up long before we became so very aware of it. Peer pressure can bend and even break the strongest of good intentions. As a parent I’ve watched as my children have been the subject of bullying. Knowing the children involved can make it harder to understand because many of these kids have good parents and they’ve been kind, loyal friends. We know how devoted Peter was to his friend, his teacher, his Messiah. Why then did Peter choose to deny Jesus? What makes it so hard to do the right thing? A need to be accepted by others, a lack of maturity or insecurity, fear of rejection by your peers can all be factors. Fear of punishment, retaliation or even death can be some of the most persuasive influences we have.
Our youth feel this pressure every day. How do we prepare them to be in the world, confident and sure of their convictions when the adults in their lives may be struggling with these same dilemmas? It can feel as though we’re truly in that place where we have no good choices – the rock and the hard place. I recently found myself in a spot very much like this. I was scared to do the right thing and scared not to do it. In the end the people around me whom I trust, who profess the same values I try to live by helped me realize who I was most concerned about pleasing.
Peter didn’t want to betray Jesus, we know that, and Jesus knew that. Jesus, however, knows our human frailties. He knows that if in the end when we choose wrongly, we will need his forgiveness and we will hopefully learn from our mistakes. Jesus forgave Peter and from the looks of it Peter learned to be strong in his convictions, to choose Jesus over other’s approval. Peter didn’t have this verse to remember but I call it up quite a lot: “For am I now seeking the approval of man or God? . . . . If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10.)
Life never seems to get easier, there always seems to be a new challenge, a new difficult choice to make. Following Christ is one of the hardest parts of our journey, and it can also be the one thing that makes everything else right. What I hope and pray for all of us is that when the choices get hard, we realize that we’re not alone and that we live in community with others who face the same problems the same difficult situations. Look to those you trust, pray for wisdom, instill in our youth this same wisdom - be someone a young person can trust. Remember: Everyone contributes to the fabric of this world. It won’t get better until we all contribute to the effort.
Faithfully,
Sally+
Questions for Reflection: Have you made a decision based on peer or societal pressure you later regretted? If you didn’t have someone to turn to for guidance, who might you turn to today?