54 Then they seized Jesus, led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed at a distance.

55 When those present had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated in the firelight and looked intently at him. “This man also was with Him,” she said.

57 But Peter denied it. “Woman, I do not know Him,” he said.

58 A short time later, someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”

59 About an hour later, another man insisted, “Certainly this man was with Him, for he too is a Galilean.”

60 “Man, I do not know what you are talking about,” Peter replied.

While he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.

Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Mary Hong

On my way to work I travel through a road known to have potholes. There were a lot of potholes on that stretch of road this week, particularly after the recent wet weather. As I drove through my GPS alerted me to them so that I didn't have to navigate through the rain that morning hitting potholes.

This passage in Luke 22 is just after Jesus has been arrested. Peter was in sitting with the people in the courtyard. As different people notice him and look more closely, Peter denies knowing Jesus. He denies even knowing what they are talking about.

We don't know why Peter said what he said, but I think that if I was in Peter's situation I could easily have responded in the same way he did. I can list many times that I have failed those I love because I was either embarrassed or frustrated about a situation. Growing up in Australia with migrant parents, one of the places we used to frequent when they first arrived was a huge market selling second hand goods. One time I saw a friend there, but I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide – not just so that she wouldn’t see there, but also so she wouldn't see my parents.

When Jesus told Peter that he would deny Jesus three times, Peter was in disbelief – he was sure he wouldn’t fail Jesus. But afterwards, he was so ashamed he went away and wept.

Like Peter, we have all said things or had moments we didn’t intend to happen. We need to navigate these moments the same way I needed to watch for the potholes. My vision was poor when I drove through the pouring rain to work. I was so thankful I had the GPS to help me avoid them.

Like my GPS guiding me, we have our guidebook in God’s Word with the Holy Spirit to help us understand. When we feel ashamed in moments like Peter was, we need to follow God’s guidebook to help us from making mistakes we might regret later on. And when we fail Jesus, we can be thankful knowing that God loves us and still forgives us. His Word guides us to say sorry and come back to him to know his forgiveness.

Friends, continue holding on to Jesus no matter how rocky and bumpy the path may seem. Each time we are tempted to run from a situation, run to Jesus instead. He will always be our shelter through the storms and our place of rest when we need it most.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary is a member of our Bossley Park Morning congregation.