The 11th
and 12th grade students and I have been storying through the Bible
together this year. The curriculum, called Echo the Story, written by Michael
Novelli, is taking us through the major stories of the Bible. The catch is that
we are supposed to try to hear the stories as if we had never heard them
before. As we read more and more of them we can reference back to ones that we
have read and try to find the connections between them.
One of the
techniques that is suggested for hearing the story in a new way is to imagine
it as a movie. If I were watching this as a movie, what would I notice? Who are
the characters? What would stand out? What story is the director trying to tell
us?
As I
approached this text, I tried to hear it for the first time. The movie that I
saw, and this sermon, could be titled "Who's writing the story?"
Let's pray: Father
God, thank you for giving us life. Jesus, thank you for showing us the way to
live. Holy Spirit come and lead us into Your truth.
We can see
from the stories about Peter that he is a man of action. He is quick to give
his opinion and to say what the others maybe are thinking but are too timid to
say. He is daring. He challenges Jesus on several occasions – "if you say
so." "If it's really you…""
that won't happen to You." he's a tough guy. He almost seems like Jesus'
bodyguard.
So here we
are at the Passover. This is a religious observance the scope of which the
western world can't imagine. The entire city of Jerusalem is observing these
holy days. People have come from all over the region to participate. Hundreds
of thousands of people. Jesus has ridden through the town with crowds of people
shouting and cheering for Him. Jesus has gone into the temple and thrown the
tables around. Peter is right there with him. This is IT! Bring it!
They gather
together for their marching orders. Peter is ready to hear how he can be a part
of the revolution! But Jesus is taking off His clothes and dressing like a
slave. He is starting to wash the feet of the others. Peter says "not me! Don't
wash my feet!" Jesus responds by
saying, "you can't be a part of My inner circle unless I wash your
feet." "in that case, says Peter, wash my head and hands too! – count
me IN!"
Jesus then tells them some more of what
is about to happen. This is the big moment. The pep-talk. The rousing battle cry. Peter is waiting for
the plan. What Jesus is saying doesn't quite compute. Talk about death and
suffering. This again? Come on Jesus, get to the good stuff. Then Jesus starts
to talk about being betrayed and having to leave. This gets Peter's attention
"where are you going?!" Jesus says, "you can't come with Me now.
you'll have to wait." Peter is anxious to act "why can't I come now?!
I am ready to die for you!" Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows
tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
in another account of
this same story, Jesus quotes an old testament scripture and tells the
disciples that it will be fulfilled by them. Jesus told them, “Tonight all of
you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and
the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ …Peter speaks up again, “Even if
everyone else deserts you, I will
never desert you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night,
before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
They all take a half
mile walk together outside the city to a more rustic location. A mountainside
with a garden. Jesus seems stressed out. He asks His friends to wait and pray
with Him. Not exactly the type of orders Peter is looking for. So he falls
asleep. He awakes to the sound of a crowd. People are coming for Jesus.
suddenly Peter leaps up, draws a sword and attacks! He cuts off someone's ear!
I did not see that coming! where did
he get a sword? why this sudden violence? Jesus puts the guy's ear back on and
asks Peter to back off. "Am I not supposed to do God's will?! put your
sword away!"
They arrest Jesus. Take Him
away. Peter is not daunted. He is not
going to fall away. He is going to go
where Jesus is going. "I'll show You
how wrong You are, Jesus!" He goes in and sits with the guards and waits to see
how it would all end. He's in the courtyard. Someone recognizes him. "hey you are one of
that man's followers, right?" Peter wants to stay close to Jesus. He is
formulating a plan. "no, not me." Can't blow his cover. Now Peter is
warming himself by the fire. What to do next? How can I get Jesus out of here?
"you are with that guy, aren't
you?" Peter stills denies it. In one account it says that an hour passes
before they notice his accent and say, "you are not from around here, you
must be with that prisoner" now Peter gets mad and starts yelling and
swearing that he doesn't know Him. Right then the rooster crows. In Luke's gospel
it says "At
that moment Jesus turns and looks at Peter. Suddenly, the words flash through
Peter’s mind: “Before
the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even
know me.” And Peter leaves the courtyard, weeping bitterly.
two things hit me when I
read this story:
what if Jesus hadn't
predicted the denials?
and
why is Peter crying?
If Jesus hadn't predicted Peter's
denials, would he have even acknowledged them? or noticed? he seems clearly
preoccupied. He has a sword which he has already used once, and he has made
some bold statements. He has an agenda – his own version of the story that he
is trying to bring about. When we abandon Jesus story for our own, all bets are
off. "What's the big deal? If I say I am with Jesus I blow my cover and
then what help will I be to Him?" He doesn't seem at all bothered by
saying it. Oh, the things we justify when we think we know better than Jesus.
So now this tough guy is crying
bitterly. why? Because he feels bad that he said he didn't know Jesus? That's
part of it for sure. But there's a bigger story going on here. Jesus looks at
him and His words come back to Peter. Who does that? Who tells you specifically
what you are going to do within a certain time frame? If someone said to me "before dinner tonight, you will
have 3 conversations about Abraham Lincoln" and I say "you're crazy,
I never talk about Abraham Lincoln" and go about my day. When dinnertime
rolls around if that had happened despite my best efforts to keep it from
happening, I would freak out! "How did you know that?!!" "Did
you make that happen?!"
I think that when the rooster crowed,
something extraordinary happened to Peter. I think in that moment he realized
that Jesus was God! A personal prophecy fulfilled on his behalf. To show Peter
that He was in charge. To show Peter His power. To show Peter that His Words are True.
In that moment, Peter knew there would
be no rescue. Peter knew that Jesus had to die. He finally pieced it together. This to me seems like something a tough
guy like Peter would weep about. Not being able to save Jesus. Sitting idly by
as His Friend, His Master, His Commanding Officer is taken away to be killed.
Peter finally gets it. His aha moment
comes as the rooster crows. He surrenders.
It's not his story to write. It's God
who is writing the story. And He still is. The script is right here for us. The
more difficult parts played by the most ordinary folks.
Jesus has told us what is going to
happen and how to respond. There will be trouble. Take heart. Turn the other
cheek. Remain in Me. Love your enemies. Leave it all behind for my sake. Forgive.
Don't worry about your life. Carry your cross.
But we, like Peter, say to Him,
"Heaven forbid! that's not the way the story is supposed to go. You are
supposed to take on the bad guys, save us from this oppression, and lead the
rebellion." "That's more like Satan's way of doing things", Jesus
reminds us. "I have to be obedient to My Father. You would be better off
doing the same."
not my will, but Yours. not my way, but Yours. not my plan, but Yours. not my story, but
Yours.
Before I
wrap up, I want to show you a clip from a movie. I am sorry if you have not
seen it before because it is truly outstanding. The name of the film is
"Stranger than Fiction" and it is about a man named Harold Crick who
is hearing voices. Not voices, a voice. A narrator, in fact, who is narrating
his every move. He is being driven quite mad by this and seeks the help of a
literature professor. Eventually, this
professor recognizes the voice in Harold's head as a famous writer who always
kills off her main character. Harold meets his author and she gives him the
finished novel. He reads it and gives it to his professor friend to read.
This is the
scene after the professor finishes the book: Stranger than fiction - You
have to die - YouTube
I won't tell
you what Harold chooses. because it's a great film and you should go watch it
if you haven't seen it. But I will
tell you that we all have this same choice. So go ahead if you want to: play it
safe, find a way out of difficult situations, avoid being a part of the larger
story. But even if you choose to hide from your Author now, His story will
prevail. What God says will happen is TRUTH. As the professor says, "even
if you avoid this death, another will find you. And I guarantee that it won't
be nearly as meaningful as what the Author has written. The hero dies, and the
story goes on forever."
I will leave
you with this quote from Frederick Buechner:
"…the
life you clutch, hoard, guard, and play safe with is in the end a life worth
little to anybody, including yourself; and only a life given away for love’s
sake is a life worth living. To bring this point home, God shows us a Man who
gave His life away to the extent of dying a national disgrace without a penny
in the bank or a friend to His name. In terms of men’s wisdom, He was a perfect
fool, and anybody who thinks he can follow Him without making something like
the same kind of fool of himself is laboring not under a cross, but a
delusion."
Let us pray:
God You say
in Your Word that the one who loses his life for Your sake will find it. Help
us to find our true life in You. Help us to surrender to You and let You write
Your story Your way. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In the name of Your Son Jesus, our Example
and our Friend. Amen
BENEDICTION:
Since we are
surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that
hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher
of our faith.
