Peter, who we call a saint as well as the very first bishop of Rome, ‘first among equals,’ is an interesting character. In the Gospels, he is often shown as someone who is quick to act than to think and analyze, hot-tempered, and even violent. We remember he took out his sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the chief priest. He is so human if we want to define to be human is to err. He’s full of errors and mistakes. Once, he is highly praised by Jesus for his confession of faith, that Jesus is the Lord, the Messiah, and the Son of God. Other times, he is rebuked by Jesus who calls him Satan. Out of all the mistakes and errors Peter made, denying Jesus three times stands out the most. Three strikes, we often call it. But he wasn’t out. He stayed.
In the second lesson that we heard today from the Book of Acts, we see Peter preaching to the crowd at the temple. At first, we might simply find this message of Peter a bit confusing because it is read out of context. The lesson doesn’t include the first part of chapter 3. So, unless we read the first part of chapter 3, we have no idea what actually happened before Peter’s preaching. Summarizing 11 verses into one sentence, Peter and John healed the crippled beggar at the gate of the temple called ‘the Beautiful Gate.’ So, the crowd witnessed the healing miracle Peter performed. Before I get into the details of his core message, I would like to reflect on the way he talks or his oratory, his public speaking skill. Let’s admit that he sounds judgmental and accusatory. He says upfront, “You handed over and rejected God’s servant Jesus. You killed the Author of life.” We can very well imagine him pointing his finger at the crowd. “You, you, you handed over, rejected, and killed Jesus the Son of God!” He then adds, “To this, we are witnesses.” Now, the crowd might want to say something about this tone of Peter’s voice. Some of them might remember what he himself did to Jesus and remind him of his betrayal and disloyalty. They might argue with him and say, “Peter, you also handed over, betrayed, and rejected Jesus. You are also part of the murder of Jesus. Do you really believe your hands are clean? Are you innocent enough to judge us? Why are you even alive? Why didn’t you die with Jesus?” I think this is a fair argument and criticism of Peter. We can easily imagine how the crowd emotionally perceived Peter’s “you, you, you” statement. They probably are quite baffled, upset and angry. Even if what Peter says is all true, that they handed over Jesus to Pontius Pilate, rejected him, and killed him, no one wants to be judged and accused in public, especially at the temple. At this point, I’m getting the sense that Peter can never point his finger at the crowd as if he is innocent. While exposing what the crowd did to Jesus, he is identifying himself with them as a traitor who handed over Jesus to the local authorities, rejected, and became a part of the murder plan. He must’ve been telling this whole thing about Jesus as an insider who not only saw everything but also participated in handing Jesus over, rejecting, and murdering him. He knows his hands aren’t clean. He very well admits that he’s not any better than the crowd but worse than them. After all, he was the one who betrayed his own friend and teacher he spent time with for the past three years. I think this sheds a different light on this act of Peter preaching at the temple. This isn’t so much about Peter’s attempt to judge and accuse the crowd so that they would feel awfully guilty and ashamed for what they did to Jesus. If Peter considers this strategy of persuading people to believe in Jesus, it isn’t a very good one. Selling a ticket to a guilt-trip doesn’t work so well. As Peter reveals what the crowd as well as himself and other disciples such as John who is present next to him have done to Jesus, the Author of life, he makes himself completely vulnerable. He exposes himself to be a sinner in front of the crowd as he reminds them of what they’ve done to Jesus. The crowd might still be in a judgmental mode as they listen to Peter, but now looking at Peter, they might be curious about what actually happened to him and the crippled beggar at the gate of the temple. Peter in the latter part of his sermon tones down his judgmental voice of himself and the crowd. He becomes soft in his words and says, “And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.” It’s like saying, “You probably didn’t do this on purpose with such an evil intent, and you didn’t know any better. You acted in ignorance.” This also means that Peter himself acted in ignorance as well. Ignorance means a lack of knowledge. Peter, other disciples, and the crowd had no idea who Jesus really was. They projected their own image of a savior onto Jesus. And that projection was shattered by the cross. Jesus on the cross wasn’t the god that the Israelites imagined. For us, this Jesus on the cross isn’t too disappointing or shocking to us because we’re somewhat used to its symbol or have become so insensitive or dull about this mystery of Jesus on the cross. Which I think we should refresh ourselves of its brutal nature and shock ourselves of the horrendous symbol of the cross we see here in the church. Psalm 4 which we recited together today specifically mentions about the action in ignorance. The second verse says, “You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; how long will you worship dumb idols and run after false gods?” (Ps 4,1) Worshiping dumb idols and running after false gods we ourselves created and filled our wishes and desires with is what it means to act in ignorance. Jesus on the cross destroys these dumb idols and false gods. This applies to all of us. We don’t necessarily feel like worshipping dumb idols or running after false gods in a ritualistic manner. It’s more of what desires, ethos, values, and beliefs govern our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Consumerism, for example, is everywhere. Our existence may be defined by what we consume. It’s not that we think, therefore we are, but really we consume, therefore we are. The problem with consumerism is that we are restless, always running after one desire after another. Never attached to anything, but always detached from everything else and even ourselves, our neighbors, and God. This consumerism creates ignorance. And we are constantly influenced and affected by the culture of ignorance. What this does to us is that we avoid the reality, particularly that of those who are suffering. Dumb idols and false gods in this culture of ignorance, the culture of consumerism detach us from real people. Ignoring the faces of those in suffering or turning our faces away from them is essentially ignoring the face of Jesus on the cross and turning our faces away from him. But Jesus is risen. This new creation of the resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Although the crowd as well as Peter and the disciples unavoidably acted in ignorance, the resurrection breaks into that ignorance. The resurrection opens the ignorant minds of all to the new reality Jesus has brought to the world. Peter is no longer a traitor after the resurrection. He is not hiding from his mistakes. He’s facing the reality, attaching to the concrete, messy, and complex nature of his new life that is now open to the coming kingdom of God in the crucified and risen Christ. This is why he can stand unapologetically and unashamedly in front of the crowd, making himself completely exposed and vulnerable. Let’s hear what Peter says to this crippled beggar at the gate of the temple. No longer acting in ignorance, he and John now have the eyes to see the reality. They see this man in suffering and in need of healing. They don’t turn away their faces from suffering of this crippled beggar. They look at him intently. Peter initiates an encounter with the man. He says, “Look at us.” The crippled man fixes his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter says, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” (Acts 3,6) Then he takes the crippled man by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles are made strong. Jumping up, he stands and begins to walk, and he enters the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. This is not the work of Peter but of the resurrected Jesus working through Peter. Like Peter, we have no silver or gold, but what we have, we give. The problem may be that we might believe we have gold or silver or that we might not believe we have Jesus to give. We might be unsure of this resurrection reality that Jesus is with us. One thing to clarify is that we don’t own or possess Jesus. What Peter does to the crippled man is to make the presence of the risen Christ known and real, helping him discover Jesus in his heart. Peter then shows what we as church give to the world of suffering as well as the world of ignorance. To this, all of us are called to be the witnesses of the resurrection. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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