I want to be like Simon Peter

The conversation at a church group meeting turned to characters of the Bible and the question was asked, “Which one is your favorite?” A surprising number immediately responded, “Peter!” I had expected to hear names such as John the Baptist, Paul, Esther, Joshua, Caleb, Elijah, Mary or Joseph, but the name 'Peter' rang the bell of popularity. He is obviously a favourite amongst believers and with reason; the most common reason for choosing him was, “I can identify with him.”

If anything Simon Peter was a man of contradictions. He did his thinking with his mouth and sometimes with his hands, and because of this, he is considered by some as churlish, uneducated, inconsiderate and perhaps even uncouth. It was he who went out and wept bitterly when he denied Jesus (Luke 22:62) and it was he who testified in public:

‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ (Matt.16:16) Peter was unafraid to say what he felt and believed.

Yes, it is true, we read about Simon Peter and see some aspect or character trait of his that we would like to claim for ourselves. We want to be a little like him, to be able to put our heads down and charge into a situation without thought of consequence, a little cavalier. Perhaps it was Peter’s character that Jesus referred to when He said, “You must become as little children...” Most of us would like to, once in a while, chop off an ear that doesn’t listen, or tell the powers that be to go suck lemons because we are going to do what must be done and we are going to do it our way.

His mind must have raced when his brother Andrew came to tell him that they had found the Messiah who could “tell us all things’. I can imagine his rough fisherman’s hands mending nets and listening to Jesus preach from his boat thinking, ‘At last, here is Him Whom I can follow.’ It wasn't long after, when so many left the Saviour, that Peter was offered the chance to go as well, but he declined with the words “Where shall we go. You are the One with the truth that we seek”.

To the disciples, Peter was their leader but he could also be led. Jesus asked and he gave his boat. Jesus said, “Follow Me” and he followed leaving behind a boatload of fish. But this decisiveness belied something else. During the Last Supper, he hid behind John, urging the latter to ask Jesus who was the traitor among them. I wonder if he was afraid of the answer? With all his bravado was there perhaps, even after three years of walking with Jesus, an uncertainty about his own loyalty? Was he afraid that he didn’t measure up? Did he know that in his heart was hidden a pocket of fear that would overwhelm him in the court of the High Priest when he denied knowing Jesus? How many of us have the same problem; all smiles and loud talk yet hiding a parcel of doubt deep inside us?

The Sanhedrin looked at this fisherman and decided he wasn’t even worth the effort to imprison. He did not match their idea of a theologian, but what Peter preached was beyond theology. Peter, like us, might have sought the Messiah who could save us, but like Peter, we might rather find a new way of living, where glory is not a boat or the fish in it, not a sword or sharp words, but a new country where our fears are forgiven and we wear a crown of love and a heart for people.

Legend has it that years later, during the reign of Nero, Peter fled Rome to escape persecution. On the way out he encountered Jesus, who asked him where he was going. Peter replied that he was fleeing the persecution. Peter then asked Jesus the same question, to which Jesus answered, “I am going to Rome to take your place.” Repentant and contrite Peter turned back. When he was crucified by the Nero’s soldiers he insisted that they crucify him upside down as he was not worthy to die the same death as Jesus. To be like Peter takes more than a rough and tumble, cavalier attitude towards life, it also demands obedience, sacrifice and tears.