Simon Peter: A journey from fear to faith
Hespeler, 12
March, 2017 © Scott McAndless
Matthew 16:13-23, Matthew
14:22-33, Psalm 23
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ear: there is not a single person
here who has not felt it, struggled with it and conquered it in some area of
your life. Fear is a part of life. As a matter of fact, it is often a very
helpful and even a necessary part of life. If it is fear of what might happen
that keeps you from jumping into the tiger cage at the zoo or running out into
traffic, then it is probably a good thing and even a kind of wisdom. But that is
not the whole story that we need to tell about fear.
I would like
to suggest to you today that fear can be a major sinful influence in a person’s
life. I am not talking here about the normal everyday fear that we all
experience and that is often useful and can make us wise. I am talking about
what happens when fear becomes a central, destructive and driving force in
somebody’s life.
I’m talking about a fear that lies deep down at the root of a person’s
life and manages to infect just about everything about how they see and
interact with the world. When people are driven by fear, you have a problem and
it is a sin problem.
The church has
traditionally recognized seven root sins that can infect a person’s life. The
seven deadly sins are anger, pride envy, gluttony, greed, lust and sloth. I don’t
know if you have realized this but over the past few weeks we have been working
our way through that list trying to give a new perspective on an old concept.
But I have added two more to that classical list of sins. A few weeks ago we
added deceit to that list and today I want to add fear.
I do not
believe that this is true for everyone, but there are people for whom fear is a
powerful and distorting energy in their life. They are so governed by fear that
they will tend to act in certain unhealthy ways. They crave safety and security
so strongly that they will cling to just about anything that will offer it to
them.
These people,
for example, are great supporters of authorities and institutions. They look to
authorities – government, civic, church or otherwise – to offer them safety.
They have much the same attitude towards laws, rules and regulations. They are
great supporters, in fact, of anything that maintains order because that makes
them feel safer. And this, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. Security
is a good goal, but it is not the only one.
One problem
that occurs particularly when large parts of a society become driven by fear is
that people will just latch onto the most powerful authority figure that they
can find hoping that it can save them. That is how tyrants gain power. It was
the kind of thing that happened in Germany and Italy in the 1930’s as marginal
people (like, for example, the Jews) were portrayed as people to be afraid of and
the society’s response was to give unchecked power to people like Hitler and
Mussolini. As you may have heard, it did not end well.
So this
powerful motivating fear can have devastating effects on a society but it can
also be pretty devastating on a personal level as well. People who are
controlled by fear in this way often see the power of fear disrupting their
course through life. They set out on a course of studies or a career path, but
at some point they panic and are afraid that they won’t be successful and they
drop out. Many will do this several times and continually regret what they see
as their failures.
Their fear
also often makes them look on others with suspicion. They hesitate to trust
them and often talk themselves into believing that others are thinking and
saying all kinds of bad things about them even when it is not true. This, as
you can imagine, can cause many problems in their relationships.
You shouldn’t
necessarily see these people as always completely paralyzed by their fears.
That can happen, of course, but you can also see people who go to almost the
opposite extreme. They become daredevils. They reject that deep internal fear
by intentionally putting themselves in situations where they are in danger.
This can become compulsive and, in the worst cases, extremely dangerous, though
it can certainly feel pretty exciting until the paralyzing fear returns with a
vengeance and at which point they will shut down. So the issue with these people is
not that they are stopped by fear so much as they are controlled by fear.
You probably
know people like this – people whose lives are controlled by their fears. They
are actually a fairly common type in our society. And I don’t want you to think
that I am here to badmouth such people. They are, in fact, wonderful people in
so many ways. You know how I know? Because Jesus chose one of them for a key
leadership role in the church.
Look at the
trials and the ups and down of a disciple named Simon whom Jesus called Peter.
He demonstrates all of characteristics of the kind of person I have been
talking about. For example, think of the time when Jesus was asking his
disciples what people were saying about him. The disciples, I think, were just
joking around. “I heard someone say you were a prophet,” one of them said. “I
heard you were Elijah” said another and then someone else said, “Get this: I
heard someone say that you were John the Baptist come back to life.” I think
that they all thought it was kind of hilarious.
But then, all
of a sudden, Simon speaks up and he doesn’t think that it is a joke. He is all
serious and he says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Now wait a minute, Simon, what are you all uptight about? Well,
I’ll tell you what. This was serious for Simon because he was someone who was
motivated by fear and the need for security. This was serious because he needed
Jesus to be the ultimate authority figure and he couldn’t think of a more
authoritative title than messiah.
Now Simon was right, of course; Jesus was indeed God’s
anointed one. Jesus praised Simon for knowing it and having the courage to say
it. But just because Simon was right about who Jesus was doesn’t mean that he
was approaching the question as he should. Clearly Simon was clinging to that
title of messiah because it represented, for him, a figure of great power and
authority.
But when Jesus
went on from there to explain that, from his point of view, being messiah wasn’t
really about having lots of power and authority but rather about being rejected
and suffering and dying, Simon got really mad because, as far as he was concerned,
what was the point of having a messiah if he wasn’t going to take over and get
everything under control. This is a typical reaction of someone who craves
security and is motivated by fear, they will latch onto any potential authority
figure as long as they project strength and power but are the first to rebel
when they show any weakness.
Simon Peter’s
response to the fear that he feels inside is not usually to run and hide
however. He is of the type that fights against the fear by living on the edge
and becoming a bit of a daredevil. For example, when Jesus was in the garden of
Gethsemane and the authorities came to arrest him, all of the disciples, I am
sure, were terrified, but only Simon Peter (according to the Gospel of John)
was motivated by his fear to do a very foolish thing by grabbing a sword and
cutting someone’s ear off. He was also the only one who put himself in the very
dangerous position of following Jesus and staying close by while he was on
trial at the High Priest’s palace.
These are the
kinds of overreactions to their fearfulness that people like Peter will often
make. And it will often get them into trouble, as it did for Peter, as people
began to ask him uncomfortable questions about who he was and why he was there
until, in this mounting fear (and to his everlasting sorrow), he ended up
denying Christ three times.
But perhaps
the clearest example of his fear at work is in the account of Simon Peter and
Jesus out on the Sea of Galilee. It is another situation where everyone is
terrified. “When
the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea,”
it says, “they were terrified, saying, ‘It
is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear.” They are all afraid but
Peter is the one who has an over-the-top reaction to his fear. Peter says, “Lord, if it is
you, command me to come to you on the water.”
Peter may be attempting to defy his own fears but he soon finds
that they are overwhelming. “When he
noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and [began] to sink.” No
matter what he does, Peter cannot escape the power that controls him. He
defiantly tries to master it by the sheer force of his will, but in the end it
is about to undo him. This the pattern that people controlled by their fear go
through again and again on their way through life.
So we have, in Simon Peter, a perfect example of a person for
whom fear is a powerful root sin – something that infects his life with a
controlling and deforming power. I have known a number of people who share that
with Peter – a deep hunger for security and a controlling fear. They are people
who often struggle because of their makeup, but I think that is wonderful how
Jesus, throughout the gospel story, deals with Peter and helps him become the
man that went on to do such great things in Jesus’ name. It is the work, I
believe, that Jesus wants to do in the life of all people like Peter.
First of all, I would note that Jesus absolutely values Simon
Peter for the man that he is. When Peter spoke up in front of the others and
declared that Jesus was the messiah, I am sure that Jesus understood that he
was speaking out of his insecurity and was looking for an authority figure of
the type that Jesus was not interested in being. Nevertheless, Jesus does not
only celebrate Simon’s correct answer, he also celebrates the man who gave the
answer. “Blessed are you, Simon
son of Jonah!” he
says. “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, and the gates of Hades will not prevail
against it.”
By giving Simon the nickname Peter (which
means rock) Jesus is doing more than honouring Simon’s insightful answer. He is
recognizing that the man will make an excellent leader – the kind of solid
foundation that you can build a church on – because of who he is. In
particular, Peter’s life has given him a deep respect for authorities and power
structures that operate in the interest of the people. His own fear has given
him this character trait but Jesus is announcing that God can use it to
accomplish much good in the world.
So that is one way in which Jesus helps
Peter. The second way is particularly on view in the story set during the
crossing of the lake. When we last left Peter there, he was defying his own
fear to step out of the fishing boat in order to pretend he wasn’t afraid to.
Once he left that boat however, his fear began to overrule his recklessness and
he panicked at the sight of the wind and the
waves.
But Jesus responded to who Peter was in that moment by reaching
out in care and compassion. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him,
saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” This is Jesus teaching Peter in that moment what he
needed most of all, for Jesus knew that victory over the power of fear can only
come through faith – by placing your trust wisely.
Jesus taught Peter well. He never forgot the fear that he felt
inside, but he went on to live a life of extraordinary courage and faith. In
the end, it is said, when a persecution broke out in Rome where he was staying,
Peter could have run away but he didn’t, he turned back and chose to be
crucified like his master (though, according to the legend that grew up, he
chose to be crucified upside down in his own personal tribute to Christ.
Peter found his courage because people like him – people who
mature in faith and understand their fears – have that ability. Their courage,
when summoned, can be extraordinary – more than the rest of us can often
muster. This is one of their gifts. So never underestimate what a person ruled
by fear can become under the teaching of Christ.
God does wonderful things in the lives of those who will trust
him. He did it for Peter, he can do it for anyone who struggles under the
control of their fear. Thanks be to God for such transforming love!
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