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July 08, 2007

July 8:First Impressions of the Apostle Peter

First Impressions: The Apostle Peter
Acts 3:1-10 and Acts 4:1-13

Last Sunday my husband Mark wore a sport coat and tie. His words to us were, “You only have once chance to make a first impression.” That’s certainly true, but I want to encourage us to not be stuck in the mode of first impressions, and might I also say superficial impressions. There are many factors that go into a situation and when we judge people by outward appearances or by one or two interactions with them, we often do ourselves and them a grave disservice.

When we gather to worship, our focus is on God and reconnecting with God. Sometimes we are able to reconnect or connect with each other, but it is often on a very limited basis and we aren’t given the opportunity to go deeper with each other. We do that when we spend time together outside of Sunday morning, whether that time is working around the church, visiting each other in our homes, attending meetings, going on a mission trip, or just hanging out together.

Here’s my plug about our listening sessions. This will offer us a beginning point in our life together. I’ll have a few questions I’d like to have you answer and then we’ll spend the time just listening to each other—with you all doing the majority of the talking. These sessions are not intended for me to tell you what I think or where I want us to go as a church. I need to hear who you are and where you are before we can put together a plan for where we believe God is calling us to go…

I pledge to you to work beyond any first impressions that I have about you and ask that you work beyond any first impressions you have about me so that we can get to know each other on a deeper, more intimate level. Here’s the rub…it will take work…to move beyond our first impressions of each other…

Story about first impressions. Krystn and I…Loud, excitable, high energy. Quiet, wall flower, shy. Mutual friend, you’ll either be best friends or no friends. Over the course of two years, we became best friends. That was in 1988 when I first moved to OP. She moved back to NYC in 1992 and we’ve remained close friends every since. But when we first met, if you’d have told me we’d be still be friends, I’d have thought you were crazy…first impressions.
How many of you have had a similar experience—you didn’t like the person when you first met them but after getting to know them you ended up being close? This reminds us that first impressions aren’t all they are cracked up to be.

In the scripture reading this morning, we find the Apostle Peter healing a chronically sick man. Who is this Apostle Peter who is able to heal people as Jesus did?

Below I’ve placed three multiple choice questions that were raised during worship.

We don’t know what to make of Peter. He has flashes of brilliance and then he says or does such embarrassing things. Let’s look at the following multiple choice questions.
1. Mark 9:2-8, Matthew 17:1-8, Luke 9:28-36. The Transfiguration.
(Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to Mt. Tabor. We know this event as the transfiguration when Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus and Jesus’ clothes turn transparent or white so that he looks like Moses and Elijah. Not something you see every day. Let’s look at the questions.)
What does Peter do after he sees Jesus standing with Elijah and Moses on top of Mount Tabor?

a. Asks if anyone brought their snow skis with them so they can ski down
b. Gets out his binoculars and looks out over the horizon
c. Asks if he can build three dwellings on top of the mountain, one for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.

Peter is afraid and confused. What has he just witnessed? Like any good extrovert, he blurts something out because he needs to say something. And what he says is so ridiculus, Jesus ignores it and they go down the mountain.

2. Matthew 14:22-33.
(Jesus sends the disciples out ahead of him in the boat and now he comes walking out to them on the water. It’s early morning. The wind is blowing and the water is rough. When the disciples see Jesus walking toward them on the water, they don’t recognize him. Jesus calls out to the disciples, don’t be afraid, it’s me. Peter asks Jesus to invite him to walk on the water and Jesus does. So Peter climbs out of the boat and begins to walk toward Jesus.)
As Peter begins to walk toward Jesus on the water, what happens?

a. He brings out his hand-held net and drags it behind him hoping to catch some fish
b. He yells back to the others in the boat, “This is fun, come try it yourselves!”
c. He notices the wind and waves, gets frightened, and begins to sink.

Peter responded to Jesus’ invitation. As Peter is sinking, he cries out for Jesus and Jesus immediately reached out his hand and catches Peter before he sinks.

3. Luke 22:54-62, Mark 14:66-72, Matthew 26:69-75.
(Jesus has been arrested and is taken to the house of the High Priest. People are hanging out in the courtyard outside the High Priest’s home and so Peter comes and sits down at a fire to warm up and wait to see what is going to happen to Jesus.)
What does Peter do when hanging out with a group of people by a fire in the courtyard?

a. Roast marshmallows on a wooden stick
b. Deny he is a follower of Jesus
c. Sing campfire songs

The scriptures tell us that after Peter denied Jesus, the rooster crowed reminding Peter that Jesus predicted his betrayal. Peter then leaves the courtyard and cries at his inability to stay faithful to Jesus.

These are some of the main accounts of Peter from the Gospels. There are more, but these are some of the more familiar ones. But anyway you look at it, this apostle; Peter is not one you or I would probably choose to lead the group after we left. But it is Peter who Jesus instructs to lead the people. He’s the one Jesus calls Peter, which means Rock. On this rock, I will build my followings Jesus declared. Peter is one of the original apostles who is the most outspoken and out front in the movement. And this Peter of the Gospels blossoms in the book of Acts.

When the Holy Spirit comes in Acts chapter two it is Peter who gives a great testimony about Jesus and why they were in Jerusalem, very similar to Peter’s speech to the Jewish council when asked not to preach about Jesus or heal in his name.

Peter, the one who denied Jesus when confronted during Jesus’ last days, is the one who informs the council, “You can ask us to do whatever. We witnessed the greatness of this man Jesus and we answer to God, not you. Do to us what you will for we must tell the stories of Jesus.” (paraphrasing)

Allow me to remind us that the Gospels where written after the fact—the earliest one about forty years after Jesus’ death. It’s very likely that Peter has already been crucified himself before the gospels in some form are written down. If you were going to write a story about someone famous and their followers would you include the stories where they don’t appear in a positive, favorable light? Why do the Gospel writers include the stories of Peter that they do? It’s not as if they tell us everything that happened during Jesus’ time with the disciples. There is no way they could.

What are they trying to tell us? To understand that question I think we must think about what we learned about this man Peter?
He didn’t always understand what was happening (the time on the mountain top) and so says things that don’t make sense.

He was not afraid to speak up or try something, whether he failed at it or not (walking on the water).

He turned his back on Jesus when overwhelmed with circumstances in a difficult situation (denied).

He seems almost human doesn’t he! And I don’t wonder if this is what the gospel writers are trying to show us. It doesn’t take perfect behavior to be a follower of Jesus. We will make missteps and miss speak. We will not always come across as if we know what we’re doing but that’s ok if we are willing to get back in there and try again.

We worry about first impressions/superficial impressions with each other but we need not worry about first impressions with God! God can see our hearts. God knows our motives. Maybe that’s why it’s sometimes frightening to follow Jesus because we know ourselves and we know our shortcomings. How could God use us, love us, as imperfect as we are???

We look to Peter for the answer BECAUSE he had faced down his fears, because he has failed before and he realized that God loved him because of and in spite of his shortcomings. God loved him and God sent Jesus to tell him just that. Peter’s life experiences gave him the courage to be the man God needed him to be in the moment—faithful, committed, and excited about serving.

Can you relate to this man Peter? He’s one of many ordinary people who fall in love with Jesus and then sing his praises. Have you had moments when you didn’t understand what God was doing in your life? Have you had moments when could have shared your faith with someone but were too afraid to “be pushy or preachy” so you’d didn’t? Have you ever been overwhelmed by life so that you felt as if you were sinking?

Sounds to me like you’re just the kind of disciple that Jesus is looking for—an imperfect person who is seeking God and is open to the movement and power of the Holy Spirit. We know from getting to know Peter on a deeper level that an imperfect person knows they have work to do, they admit they need help, and they seek God’s guidance. I don’t know about you, but I can do that.

Peter kept coming back to Jesus. I hope you will too.

Posted by vickie at 10:00 AM