This year, as I think about the Easter story, my mind keeps going towards the hours of the Last Supper followed by Jesus' arrest, and about three characters in particular: Judas, Jesus, and Peter. How the things they loved most formed their character and led them down their particular path. And how the Easter story speaks to all of us who identify most closely with Peter.
First, looking at Jesus - this is the path of loving others. He spends his last night before death washing everyone's feet, including Judas (!!). He tells His disciples that they should be servants and that they should love one another, and He shows them how it's done. He willingly allows Himself to be arrested, knowing that this would be followed by death, doing it all motivated by love for His Father and love for humanity.
Second, looking at Judas - this is the path if you get caught up in the here and now, money, and only looking out for yourself. He sells out one of his closest friends, a man he greatly admired, for a small sum of money. This results in him losing all his friends, his life ending in disgrace, and his name remaining synonymous thousands of years later with the worst kind of betrayal.
It is clear, looking at these two, which is the path of light and beauty and goodness, and which is the path of darkness and destruction. But as I think about myself, it's also clear that I don't live up to this example set by Jesus. I'm having a good day if I act like a servant towards those I love most dearly. If someone crosses my kids, or cuts me off in traffic, or makes work more difficult, the LAST thing I want to do is show them love and kindness, let alone lay down my life for them. (Of course you should still protect your kids, give someone a warning honk if they're driving dangerously, and zealously advocate for your clients or however it applies in your workplace - the problematic part is the simmering bitterness after the fact, the attitude of "How dare someone treat me that way?", the temptation to treat that person badly after the danger of the situation has passed.) I aspire to the beautiful attitude of Jesus, but I'm never remotely close to attaining it. This is why there's also great comfort in looking at Peter's role in this story.
Looking at Peter - throughout the gospel accounts, he has lots of confusion but also great enthusiasm and love for Jesus. At the time of Jesus' arrest, Peter's ready to go to battle for Jesus, even cutting off a soldier's ear. (Again, confused about the right way to act, but with the best intentions.) Then, when Jesus is arrested and everyone scatters - and he is now exhausted, alone, devastated, and probably questioning everything - Peter acts like a coward and denies Jesus three times. When the rooster crows and he realizes what he has done, he weeps bitterly. He doesn't feel good about how he's conducted himself, he still has faith, but he's had a few hours where he acted in a way that all of us understand and none of us want to be like. The coward, the one who breaks down when the going gets hard, the one who needs his Lord because he's not strong enough on his own. This is a character I can identify with.
And this is the person on whom the Lord builds His church. The important thing about Peter isn't whether he maintained a standard of perfection all the time - because he definitely didn't; he was impulsive, confused, and cowardly at times - the important thing was that he consistently maintained his faith, he consistently turned back to the path of following Jesus. The good news of Easter is that this is all we need to do - Jesus has defeated death, it is finished. And we can be part of this, even on our worst days, by putting our faith in this good news.
Happy Easter to all!
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