It’s lovely to have you join us for our Tuesday podcast. Our Bible passage today is Galatians Chapter 2 vs11-14, and I’m going to read these now, from the Message translation:

“Later, when Peter came to Antioch, I had a face-to-face confrontation with him because he was clearly out of line. Here’s the situation. Earlier, before certain persons had come from James, Peter regularly ate with the non-Jews. But when that conservative group came from Jerusalem, he cautiously pulled back and put as much distance as he could manage between himself and his non-Jewish friends. That’s how fearful he was of the conservative Jewish clique that’s been pushing the old system of circumcision. Unfortunately, the rest of the Jews in the Antioch church joined in that hypocrisy so that even Barnabas was swept along in the charade.

But when I saw that they were not maintaining a steady, straight course according to the Message, I spoke up to Peter in front of them all: “If you, a Jew, live like a non-Jew when you’re not being observed by the watchdogs from Jerusalem, what right do you have to require non-Jews to conform to Jewish customs just to make a favourable impression on your old Jerusalem cronies?”

REFLECTION:

At the start of this period of lockdown, Mick – our team rector – encouraged people to watch a box set or favourite TV show to keep their spirits up.  He suggested ‘Friends’ or classic Match of the Day episodes.

In the Ward household we chose the BBC’s ‘Line of Duty.’  It’s a hard-hitting police crime drama.

I don’t think it was quite what Mick had in mind, but we have just finished series 2!

Line of Duty follows the members of Unit AC-12, who are responsible for investigating corruption in the police force.

We see characters driven by fear, acting hypocritically and being challenged about the charade they are presenting.  We get to learn about the cliques and the cronies; and see plenty of face-to-face confrontation as AC-12 seek to uncover the truth.

Today’s Bible reading is a similar moment of high drama in the story of the early church, and it’s easy to sense the tension and intensity of this encounter between Paul and Peter.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Paul is trying to operate just like Unit AC-12 – seeking to stop Peter in his tracks, remove him from his position, and take him out.

However, the complete opposite is true.

Paul is not acting as a policeman investigating corruption; he is behaving as a disciple of Christ who wants to ensure that fellow leaders and friends, live out the truth of the Gospel and are not drawn into following the lies of the world.

Paul wants to raise Peter up, not pull him down.

It’s in the line of duty for all Christians to support, encourage, and sometimes challenge, other believers to live in such a way that does not take them or those they know off course, away from the narrow path of following Jesus.

But how did Peter end up in this situation, where Paul needed to challenge his actions?

Watching ‘Line of Duty’ there is always a back story.  These crooked police officers don’t start out that way.  There’s a trigger, or a weakness, a major life event, that causes them to stop upholding the truth.

It was the same for Peter.  He started off well – he actively showed the unity and equality that comes through faith in Christ by eating regularly with his non-Jewish friends……..but then something happened that made him pull back, to create distance between himself and the Gentiles, and caused many others to follow suit and act in a way that was hypocritical and divisive.

What was it?

We see the answer in verse 12……it was fear.

Peter is fearful of what the conservative Jews from Jerusalem might think, or say, or do when they see him eating with Gentiles.

And fear of what other people may think, or say, or do is an issue that Peter has struggled with throughout his Christi...