Simon Peter The Hothead

Every once in a while I take great comfort in the fact that Simon Peter was such a flawed person.

Peter had a great intensity about him and had flashes of brilliance (grace) in leading his bretheren as the first Pope. But he was also a dumb fisherman who frequently shot off his mouth without first engaging his brain.

On the mountain of the transfiguration, Peter said . . . “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents. . . .” But he did not know what he was saying. Lk 9:33

At the feeding of the four thousand, Jesus "began to teach them that the Son of Man ⁷ must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Mk 8:31-33

This pattern repeats itself right up to the very moment of the Lord's Supper.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?"

Jesus answered and said to him,"What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later."

Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet."

Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me."

Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well."

Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over." Jn 13:1-15

What a lunkhead.

My favorite depiction of Peter comes from Franco Zeffirelli's miniseries, Jesus of Nazareth, in which Peter laments, "Forgive me, Lord, I'm just a stupid man."

But if Peter can make it by the grace of God, maybe, just maybe, I can too.