URC Daily Devotion Monday 14th April 2025
St Luke 22: 54 – 71
Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, ‘This man also was with him.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, ‘You also are one of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ Then about an hour later yet another kept insisting, ‘Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about!’ At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.
Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him; they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, ‘Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?’ They kept heaping many other insults on him. When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. They said, ‘If you are the Messiah, tell us.’ He replied, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.’ All of them asked, ‘Are you, then, the Son of God?’ He said to them, ‘You say that I am.’ Then they said, ‘What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!’
Reflection
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered … And he went out and wept bitterly. Sometimes all it takes for us to realise the scale of our failings is to be looked in the eye by those have let down. Some years back, within a group discussion on ‘Heaven and Hell’, an Anglican colleague, when asked whether he believed in hell, replied: “I’d define hell as being looked in the eye by Jesus and being found wanting”. I suspect that Peter’s behaviour in this passage resonates strongly with many of us. Bold and ambitious promises dissolving when the pressure is on. Peter has three opportunities to get it right; he fails on each and, perhaps worst of all, claims he doesn’t know what his inquisitor is talking about. Promises of loyalty dissolve into denial. And the risk is that we can also look on with too large a measure of self-satisfaction and judgment (after all, we would never fail so spectacularly … or would we?).
It only took Jesus’ glance for Peter to leave and weep. If hours later, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, Jesus “descended into hell”, it is arguably at this point when Peter descends into his own hell.
All of this takes place around a fire. Thankfully the grace of God kindles new flames. Just days later – the other side of their descent into hell – Jesus and Peter are by a fire (John 21: 9-19). This time on a beach and, when looked in the eye again by Jesus, Peter is given three more opportunities to affirm his love for Jesus. And in God’s mercy and grace Peter counters his threefold “no” with a threefold “yes” and is invited afresh to follow him. So, too, whilst all too often we fail to live up to what we promise, God ever invites us to new opportunities to start afresh: to say “yes” again.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
in whose glance we stand exposed and ashamed
for the many times we let you and others down,
we thank you that you rekindle
the flames of God’s grace, mercy and patience,
offering us new opportunities to start afresh.
Enable us to look you and others in the eye
and by the Spirit’s power within us
to match more closely our promises we make
with the way we live and love.
Amen.