Missionary Renegade: The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 18 May 2016

Thursday, May 19, 2016

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 18 May 2016 - "Peter: braver than most"

Wednesday, 18 May 2016 - "Peter: braver than most"

Daily Scripture: Luke 22:54 Having seized him, they led him away and brought him into the house of the cohen hagadol. Kefa followed at a distance; 55 but when they had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Kefa joined them.

John 18:15 Shim‘on Kefa and another talmid followed Yeshua. The second talmid was known to the cohen hagadol, and he went with Yeshua into the courtyard of the cohen hagadol; 16 but Kefa stood outside by the gate. So the other talmid, the one known to the cohen hagadol, went back out and spoke to the woman on duty at the gate, then brought Kefa inside. 17 The woman at the gate said to Kefa, “Aren’t you another of that man’s talmidim?” He said, “No, I’m not.” 18 Now the slaves and guards had lit a fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it warming themselves; Kefa joined them and stood warming himself too.

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Reflection Questions:

The soldiers who arrested Jesus didn’t take him to some kind of public courthouse. The gospels say they took him to the expensive, palatial home of Caiaphas, the high priest. Give Peter credit—he at least tried to live up to his boldly-stated loyalty. Instead of melting away into the darkness, he followed “from a distance,” and entered the courtyard of the high priest’s imposing home.

Of all the disciples, only Peter walked on water (Matthew 14:28-29). Peter came right out and said Jesus was the Messiah (Mark 8:27-29). Peter insisted that he would go with Jesus “to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). To what extent did Peter show his personal courage and boldness in the crisis of Jesus' arrest? What was he apparently relying on that led him to fail, despite his relatively bold actions?
Physical martyrdom was a more immediate risk for the apostles than it is for us in the USA today. Yet at times serving God still brings risks, social or economic if not physical. In what ways does concern for self-preservation test your faith most strongly, perhaps tugging you away from your allegiance to Jesus? How can you deepen your faith that you are ultimately safer with Jesus than away from him, no matter what happens?

Today’s Prayer:

Loving Lord, the world that hated and condemned you is still the world I live in. As I seek to faithfully follow you, teach me how to trust in your eternal protection, and not just my own frail human courage. Amen.

Insights from Jennifer Creagar

Jennifer Creagar facilitates the Prayer Ministry and coordinates the Financial Care and Assistance ministries. She is married, has three great kids and three perfect grandchildren whom she loves spending time with, and she enjoys writing and photography.
In Help Thanks Wow: Three Essential Prayers, author Anne Lamott says, “Prayer is taking a chance that against all odds and past history, we are loved and chosen, and do not have to get it together before we show up.”1
Thank goodness.
In today’s GPS scripture, we see Peter showing up, but he definitely does not have it together. He does what I tend to do, what I think many of us tend to do – he follows at a safe distance while trying to figure it all out himself. He’s already made one attempt to take action, when he cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave during Jesus’ arrest, and Jesus stopped him, saying “No more of this!” (Luke 22:51) and “Put your sword back into its sheath.” (John 18:11). It would be easy enough for Peter to say, “I’m obviously no good at this, I need to hide until I can figure out what to do.” He doesn’t do that. He shows up. From a distance, and with great fear and still trying to figure it out for himself, but he shows up.
I am devoted to journaling, and have adopted the prayer exercise of Examen as part of my journaling routine. (You can find out more about Examen by clicking here.) It can be very interesting and informative to go back through the past days and weeks in my journal and see what I’ve written. Recently I discovered a phrase repeating itself – basically “God, help me figure this out.” Over and over, with different words, but the same prayer. Looking at this and praying about it, I realized that I was, like Peter, looking at this problem from a safe distance. I repeatedly asked God to help me figure it out for myself, instead of engaging and letting the Holy Spirit lead me to God’s will in this area of my life. I didn’t really need to be braver, or smarter – I had already recognized that I didn’t have it together – but I did need to be more trusting and quit trying to “figure this out.”
(SPOILER ALERT: As time goes on, Peter quits following at that safe distance and leads the early church. God uses Peter in amazing and miraculous ways. The same is true for you and me. We are loved and chosen, just like Peter, and we do not have to get it together before we show up.)
1 Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: Three Essential Prayers. New York: Riverhead Books, 2012, pp. 5-6.