Second-Chance Peter--What's in a Name?

Today we are celebrating our patronal festival – the feast day of St Peter, which he shares with St. Paul because they are seen as pillars of the early western church. Peter is mentioned 109 times in the gospels – more than any other disciple. He was one of the first disciples Jesus called, and he was one of the inner circle.

The day Jesus was transfigured he took Peter, James and John with him up the mountain. And you will remember that seeing Moses and Elijah with Jesus, it was Peter who immediately offered to build them each a tiny house. When Jesus came walking on the water, it was Peter who jumped out of the boat and took a few brave steps towards him before he noticed the storm and lost his nerve. It was Peter who finding his fishing nets surprisingly full of fish recognized Jesus on the shore and jumped out of the boat to get to him as fast as possible, leaving the other guys to bring the catch in.

And it was Peter who cut off a man’s ear when they came to arrest Jesus, and then followed Jesus as they took him away to the Jewish authorities. But then he lost his nerve. This is the account from John’s gospel, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, "I am not." ... As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not." One of the high priest's servants… challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

Jesus had told Peter that before the cock crowed, he would deny him three times, but Peter was sure that was impossible. When it happened like Jesus said, he was devastated. In today’s gospel reading from after the resurrection, Peter is given the opportunity to make things right.

Just as he denied knowing Jesus three times, Peter now gets to declare his love for him three times. And so Jesus tells him to feed his sheep. Peter subsequently became seen as the great shepherd of the early church.

You probably noticed that in this short account Jesus isn’t calling him Peter but rather Simon. Simon was the name his parents gave him, Peter was the name that Jesus gave him. As Lenny told us in this week’s Pebble, “In Greek “petra” means “rock,” more specifically “massive rock formation.” And in Matthew 16:18 Jesus asks the disciples who they deem him to be. Simon immediately answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus then says to him: “Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.”

Any parent will tell you that names are important. Parents-to-be often spend hours thinking about, talking about and choosing the names of their children. In the ancient world, names were even more important. They carried the very essence of the person and sometimes their destiny or their purpose. So the change from Simon to Peter was not a minor thing, not like giving him a nickname but a life-changing event. When Simon saw that Jesus was the Son of God he became Peter.

Which has me wondering about what it means that this church is called St Peter’s. Yes, it was the obvious name because of Morro Rock and because Peter was a fisherman. But was there some other movement of the Spirit that made Peter our patron saint?

Let’s take a few minutes to reflect on that together.

What qualities of Peter or aspects of his life do you see here in this congregation? And what aspects would you like to see more of?

Yes, it’s time for Think, Pair and Share. When you’ve had a moment to think about it, please find someone else and talk together about this question. You may need to move so that everyone has someone to talk to.

What qualities of Peter or aspects of his life do you see here in this congregation? And what aspects would you like to see more of?
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As I thought about it, I noticed three things.

The first one is a little tricky. Peter is rather impetuous – he jumps into things with a lot of enthusiasm – but at the same time he is the rock which is very stable. It seems that there are both impulses among us. Some of us want to do something new, to jump in and get our feet wet, while others are pretty comfortable with the way things are, thank you, and don’t want to be disturbed. Which is a bit like The Episcopal Church as a whole – we strongly value tradition at the same time as wanting the Holy Spirit to move us forward.  This apparent contradiction between stability and experimentation can be a blessing when we hold them in balance but a problem when it holds us back from moving with the wind of the Spirit.

The second one is a little tricky too. A month or two ago we talked about Peter’s dream. The one in which he saw all sorts of unclean foods and heard God tell him to eat. Of course, as an observant Jew he wouldn’t do that. But God said, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” And God said it three times so Peter knew she was serious. And after that he met Cornelius the Gentile, and baptized him. Peter was taken to task by the church leaders in Jerusalem but explained that God had shown him that the gospel was for Gentiles as well as Jews. But later it seems that Peter went back on this insight and started to think that maybe Jesus was for Jews only after all.

This church welcomes new people – you have made Jill and I very welcome here. But when a church or any organization is more solid and rock-like than fluid that welcome may only go so far. If we really offer a radical welcome to new people we will need to change as we give them voice and welcome them into positions of leadership. Which means that people who have been doing a great job for a long time may have to move to allow new ideas and new possibilities, and that can be painful. After all, why change something that is working perfectly well?

The third thing I notice is that Peter always got a second chance. Even when he did something really crazy, like denying Jesus that terrible night before the crucifixion, he still got a second chance. You could even call him Second-Chance Peter. And I notice that in this church you give each other second chances. You go on loving people even when they screw up or act in odd ways. Forgiveness is not always easy but you don’t hold people in old patterns by thinking that the way they were on their worst day is the way they always are and will be. You don’t rush to judgment.

And that, my friends, is a wonderful gift. And it is the gift that God offers us today and every day. We are reconciled with God and with one another by grace. Pure grace. Pure gift of God. Second-chance Peter is not the only one. Second-chances abound in the reign of God.

But second chances also bring opportunities and responsibilities.

Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” …After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Feed my sheep.

Follow me.

the Rev. Dr. Caroline Hall