Daily Liturgy and Scripture

If I were Peter, this event would probably be the most important moment of my life. Peter was the most bold and outspoken of the apostles, but that moment at Jesus' trial when he denied knowing Jesus must have surely been hanging over his head. Three times he denied. What does Jesus do here? He asks Peter to affirm three times that he loves him. No mention of the failure, just an opportunity for redemption. Peter seizes it. This is the first time John records Peter talking to Peter since the resurrection, and he leaps out of the boat to get to Jesus, even though they're not far from shore. Jesus restores him. When Peter was later in prison and facing execution, I bet it was this moment that played in his mind. His Savior let him come back, but only for Peter's sake. Jesus never stopped believing in him.

The way Jesus deals with Thomas should give us all hope. This man who walked with Jesus, who in John 11:16 called the disciples to go die with Jesus, now refuses to believe the resurrection until he sees Jesus for himself. It's easy for us to look down on him, think of him as being maybe one step above Judas. But that not how Jesus saw him. Thomas asked for proof, and Jesus gave it to him. The end of the chapter gives a pretty solid reason for that: we have this gospel so that we can believe in Jesus. That is what Jesus wanted most for Thomas, and what he wants for us.

It's interesting that the story of Joseph being thrown into a cistern comes together with Jesus's body being laid in a borrowed tomb. It seems that the two of them have more than a little in common. Both were abandoned and betrayed by those closest to them and both now find themselves in a hole in the ground. The literal darkness of both of those places is the low point before they started on their ascents to glory. That's often the hardest thing to remember when we're in our dark places. It's part of the journey, and we shouldn't discount it. We aren't the first to go through a pitch-black darkness before we find the way back into light.

The crucifixion is the center point of the Christian faith, and there's a lot going on in the story today. Not only is Jesus fulfilling scripture and resolving the gap between God and man, but many of the human players are revealing their true selves as well. When the religious leaders decree, "we have no king but Caesar," they actually aren't speaking the truth. Caesar isn't their king, but neither is God. They have rejected both. That only leaves themselves, and that certainly appears to be the one ruling them at the moment.

It's almost unthinkable to imagine preferring anything to Jesus. The crowd, wound up and calling for blood, preferred a violent revolutionary to the man who washed the feet of his own followers. But is it so unthinkable? Don't we have a list of things that we prefer to the humble Savior?

This is one of the most poignant moments of the ministry of Jesus: he is arrested, and his most fervent disciple denies knowing him. The whole enterprise was on the line: Jesus was entrusting the work of the gospel to the hands of those who were failing him. But the story didn't end there. Not to spoil the end of the story, but Jesus isn't through with us just because we fail. Certainly, Peter's failure should give us confidence that we can always come back.

John 17 should be a verse to remember whenever we feel alone. If we are in Christ, we are never on our own. The fellowship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is our constant fellowship, and we are held in that eternal embrace. In times we are afraid, feel abandoned, or think we have been forgotten, we have not. We are eternally known by the eternal embrace of Love.

Today, we remember the presentation of Christ in the temple, follow the law of Moses. This is something every Jewish family did, it was part of their role as members of the community. Even though Jesus would one day become the object of worship, this is a reminder that he was a real part of the human experience, and did not come to destroy the law. He said as much in Matthew 5:17. In this moment, the infant Jesus was joining his family in following the law to the letter.

This is what prayer is: Jesus gives us his name so that we can approach the Father. It's interesting that John records Jesus saying he will now speak plainly, and he starts by telling them exactly how prayer works. Is there anything more important? Jesus gives us the reason why it is. His apostles then, as today, will experience suffering. As they use the name of Christ to approach the Father, so others will use it to accuse and convict them. We have peace in him.

Jesus continues to unfold the mystery of the Trinity to his apostles, even outlining what's going to happen after his death and resurrection. It was probably difficult -- and a little wacky -- to hear. He was going? He was going to send a spirit? That listened to him? And talked to them? Jesus acknowledged this. "You can't bear it now" is probably an understatement. But later, at Pentecost, when the Spirit descends, these words must have been in the front of their minds. The Spirit was there, hearing the Son, connected to the Father, and bringing believers into the divine embrace. This connection is the same as what we have today.