Fergal Mac Eoinín
Thinking Anew
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – it sounds like a mundane Tuesday in an endless week. The Gospel and the Reading tomorrow both tell the tales of two ordinary men who were to become extraordinary. Samuel and Peter, two men of no particular importance or ability, are chosen as the prophet and the bedrock of faith. Samuel was a youth who helped out in the Temple and became one of the greatest of the prophets. Peter, a subsistence fisherman, became the unlikely foundation stone of faith. Jesus might have chosen him but, Peter would be an unlikely candidate for any high office today considering the record of his life.
The commercial world meditates on this paradox regularly. A discussion that questions the competence of a person who has been promoted will likely mention the Peter Principle; managers rise to the level of their incompetence. The principal is named after the strange choice of Peter as the personal rock on which the Church stands. This is based on an interpretation that hogs the discussion of Christ’s intent. It is not the only story in town.
All of us are Peter. Our history of Peter recounts no tales of an inspirational leader. We have instead the memory of a very flawed person. He gave the incorrect answer to almost every question he was asked. He had a temper and cut off another person’s ear. He hid when he was fearful. He lied when he was in trouble. He entangled himself in a cloak before jumping into a lake. He died for Christ. Despite all the things that he got wrong we remember most that Jesus had the utmost confidence in Peter. Even though he had some slips on the way he endured to the end. He succeeded by remaining faithful to what he was trying to do right up until the end.
Peter was a fisherman. He knew that rocks were a mixed blessing. They could hold your anchor or sink the boat. They might provide a solid footing or perhaps a slippery slope. They can harness a bridge but they block your progress. For all their dead numbness, rocks have character too. Christ chose that character in Peter because that was where his message was likely to prevail. His followers would be compiled out of the good people, who get it wrong sometimes, try harder and say “sorry.” They are people who are aware of their shortcomings but are willing to do something about them. Just like Peter.
Christianity is not a faith for those who are perfect. Those who consider themselves perfect need never look outside of themselves to find what is good or right. The choice of a fisherman secured bedrock in a man who could never be considered as a candidate for perfect. Fishermen are naturally humble because they know that there are things that are beyond their personal control. Natural humility is not the same as meekness; it is simply being open to the possibility that somebody else might have a better answer than mine. This is humility that is common to all people with an occasional exception. Knowing that there is a bigger picture and things can always be improved opens the human mind like nothing else. Faith sits best wherever this passion is strong.
In his blunders, mistakes, faults and failings; we have a lot in common with the man Christ chose. If we know that our lives are more than a catalogue of our failings and hope that we can make the world a better place, any of us can say “Je suis Peter”!