John 21:17a
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me?
Now, we know Peter. Rash enough to step out of a boat to walk on water, brash enough to raise a sword against a soldier...and lop off an ear. We know also that Peter had denied Christ three times. Not a nice thing to have on your resume if your a disciple. Not that many others among the disciples would have done things differently. There was a lot of fleeing going on when Jesus was arrested. A lot of hiding. Am I wrong to think that one of the disciples left his clothes behind and escaped naked rather than be caught up in the trouble that Jesus was in? Think I read that somewhere.
In any event, the interesting thing for me in this section is the excruciating (pun intended) pain Jesus was putting Peter through. Let me set up what I think this pain consisted of:
Peter the impetuous was told by Christ that he would betray his lord three times. "No way" Peter says. "That would never, ever happen." Then it happens. Now, the first shame has got to be that he allowed himself to be a coward when his valor was most needed (not for Jesus' sake - valor on Peter's part wouldn't have freed Jesus. For Peter's own sake.). The second shame is that he'd been warned about this and it came true - even knowing the future didn't help him.
But I imagine that Peter, when he finally met up with the other disciples, did not make his denials a highlight of conversation. He kept that quiet. Probably nobody thought to ask "Hey, did that prophecy about your denials come true?" Since they hadn't hung around, they wouldn't have heard the denials firsthand. A set of anxious hours later and the the master is back. Glory! Hallelujah! but then...
If Peter didn't tell the others about the prophecy coming true, he wouldn't have made that a topic of conversation with Jesus in front of the others. In fact, "good chance that Jesus didn't even know about the denials" was probably at the forefront of Peter's mind. "Good thing Jesus was otherwise occupied while I was denying away."
Then Jesus asks the questions just enough times - three - and in front of others, to erase the three denials if Peter will make the three affirmations. Let's Peter know he knew all about the denials. Sounds like slow and deliberate torture to me. Yet...It also lets Peter know that the slate can be wiped clean. How glorious is that?
Now, we know Peter. Rash enough to step out of a boat to walk on water, brash enough to raise a sword against a soldier...and lop off an ear. We know also that Peter had denied Christ three times. Not a nice thing to have on your resume if your a disciple. Not that many others among the disciples would have done things differently. There was a lot of fleeing going on when Jesus was arrested. A lot of hiding. Am I wrong to think that one of the disciples left his clothes behind and escaped naked rather than be caught up in the trouble that Jesus was in? Think I read that somewhere.
In any event, the interesting thing for me in this section is the excruciating (pun intended) pain Jesus was putting Peter through. Let me set up what I think this pain consisted of:
Peter the impetuous was told by Christ that he would betray his lord three times. "No way" Peter says. "That would never, ever happen." Then it happens. Now, the first shame has got to be that he allowed himself to be a coward when his valor was most needed (not for Jesus' sake - valor on Peter's part wouldn't have freed Jesus. For Peter's own sake.). The second shame is that he'd been warned about this and it came true - even knowing the future didn't help him.
But I imagine that Peter, when he finally met up with the other disciples, did not make his denials a highlight of conversation. He kept that quiet. Probably nobody thought to ask "Hey, did that prophecy about your denials come true?" Since they hadn't hung around, they wouldn't have heard the denials firsthand. A set of anxious hours later and the the master is back. Glory! Hallelujah! but then...
If Peter didn't tell the others about the prophecy coming true, he wouldn't have made that a topic of conversation with Jesus in front of the others. In fact, "good chance that Jesus didn't even know about the denials" was probably at the forefront of Peter's mind. "Good thing Jesus was otherwise occupied while I was denying away."
Then Jesus asks the questions just enough times - three - and in front of others, to erase the three denials if Peter will make the three affirmations. Let's Peter know he knew all about the denials. Sounds like slow and deliberate torture to me. Yet...It also lets Peter know that the slate can be wiped clean. How glorious is that?
posted by Steven at 11:59 PM
1 Comments:
Souls are extensions of what, esoteric Christians call the "individuality" - the actual soul, the unique identity bestowed unto us from the Father.
The specific incarnations then are reffered to as the "personality."
For example, Jeffrey Cyr is a personality, an extension of a soul that is not Jeffrey Cyr; yet, part of the individuality (our true selves) is always manifested in our seemingly unending personalities. And, the more advanced souls always live firmly grounded in their individualites.
Now, the purpose of life is to return unto our Maker from whence we came.
This is done via soul development, and the multitude of personalities (lives) we choose to live.
Now, of course, the obvious question is, "Why does soul development take so many lives? Why can't it all be done at once?"
The answer is that re-attuning a soul to the will of the Father is quite an undertaking, and is easiest done in gradual steps.
Soul development then, can be most simply understood as something analogous to the board game "Trivial Pursuit".
We have an empty, or partially filled piece (soul) seeking to be completed. As disincarnate entities the veil of the conscious mind is lifted and we can see life more objectively. We look at ourselves and say, "I have blue and green, I think I'll go for yellow or red now."
Peter (Simon) was a personality just like us. He had not achieved unspotted fourth dimensional unification yet - he was the disciple of the one who did.
Hence, he was incarnating to meet himself in a specific way - to crystallize that singular aspect, or lesson, he incarnated for.
Faith is a knowledge derived from experience, and the three denials of the Master gave Peter the experience that crystallized his faith.
The act was important because of the epiphany it led to - much worse things have been done on the earth plane than Peter's actions.
For, it was in that moment, understanding how and why he failed, where he manifested the purpose of his life - taking one more step closer to being whole, and returning to the Father from whence he came.
And, as for not approaching his fellow apostles with the act - that notion is pure conjecture. Yes, nothing is written on the matter either way; but, Peter would have no reason to restrict this knowledge, because he was changed afterwards - it lit a fire under him to spread the Truth that was never quenched. And often times, illustrating to others the experiences that led to our faith, can be a spiritual stepping stone for them as well.
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