In today's gospel, Jesus' arrest is drawing near and the tells his followers, "You will all become deserters; for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' " But Peter insists otherwise. "Even though all become deserters, I will not." And even Jesus' prediction that Peter will deny him three times cannot shake Peter's insistence, nor that of the other disciples. " 'Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.' And all of them said the same."Peter's arrogance has always struck me as a bit laughable. And yet I often engage in an arrogance of my own. I find it all too easy to see the shortcomings in others' faith lives while minimizing my own. I don't know if this is a particular problem for pastors or if it's just me. But to paraphrase Jesus' criticism of the Pharisees, it's easy to see the speck in another person's eye while missing the log in my own.
Does my ability to overlook my own faults rise to the level exhibited by Peter in today's reading? I'd like to think not. But it certainly is nice to know that even Peter's threefold denial of Jesus did not cost him his disciple's credentials. The risen Jesus still embraced him. I'm counting on that.
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