Why Peter... Why Not?

Saint Peter in Tears is a painting by Greco

H

ow did the Lord choose someone like Peter, who was known for being impulsive and inconsistent, over others who might have appeared more reliable or steady? I pose this question because Peter must have asked this question himself. There is a seeming paradox of Jesus's choice which invites deeper reflection on Peter's unique qualities and role in God's plan of salvation.

Let's explore three possible reasons behind this. First, Peter's struggle begins here: he couldn't grasp the idea of the Son of God dying a criminal’s death. Like Judas, Peter expected Jesus to triumph over the Jewish oppressors. The thought of suffering and death on a cross could already evoke a strong sense of revulsion. Joshua Henson describes Peter's dilemma as a form of cognitive dissonance; the true nature of Jesus’s ministry was beyond Peter’s cognitive abilities. Moreover, Peter struggled, in fact, with the rest of the apostles, to understand something that could only be comprehended spiritually.

How did Jesus go beyond this incapacity of Peter? What was it in the Lord's heart that made him not only to choose Peter but also to choose to stick to him until the end? After the event in Caesarea Philippi, the Lord could have just changed his mind and chosen another. But that is if we are thinking as humans and not as God. Simply put, Jesus did not only choose Peter, Jesus loved Peter so much. No doubt about that. But it was a love that does not condone the beloved's misguided path.

When Jesus saw that Peter was becoming a stumbling block, he didn’t let it pass. The stakes were too high, and it could jeopardize Jesus’s mission of saving humanity. There is an ancient saying, “Corruptio optimi pessima,” meaning “the corruption of the best is the worst.” This was very much applicable to Peter. No wonder Jesus gave, in a matter of seconds, a complete reversal of the blessing he had first given him: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me” (Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:31). We now understand why Jesus used such harsh words of rebuke. Jesus repeated the exact words he used to address Satan during his temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:8). He knew that if Peter’s corruption went uncorrected, it would have been the worst in human history.

Secondly, let's consider an underlying reason for Peter's behavior. Peter, like most Jews, did not fully understand what St Ignatius calls the two different types of kingdoms. Jesus said to him, “You are not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man.” For those who have gone through the thirty-day silent retreat, we remember meditating on the Two Kingdoms at the end of the First Week of the Spiritual Exercises. Peter needed this meditation to address certain misconceptions about the heavenly kingship of Jesus. Peter's good intentions were compromised by his lack of understanding or misalignment of the kingdom of the eternal King and the kingdom of the earthly king. Peter's problems resurfaced when he denied the Lord during the arrest. He blew it again! Was it bound to happen? Was Jesus’s prediction far-fetched? Or did Jesus foresee it after Peter's many missteps? Initially, we asked, "Why did it have to be Peter?" This question arises if we focus only on Peter's flaws. However, there is something in Peter that Jesus loved.

This brings us to the third point: Peter’s weaknesses served as his greatest strength. Where we are strongest is where we are weakest. Paul articulated this well when he said he could only boast of his weaknesses, for when he is weak, he is strong. We may focus on Peter's incapacities, but Jesus saw in Peter a model for all of us to follow if we aspire to shepherd God's flock. Peter's shining example is his close awareness of his flaws and incapacities, which mirrored Jesus' unconditional love for him. He was simply loved, period! Because of this, Peter took to heart his task of shepherding without letting his flaws and sense of unworthiness hinder him. God's greater glory shines in Peter's awareness and acceptance that he is a sinner. This is what makes Peter very much like any one of us. He is forever considered the first vicar of Christ despite his weak and vacillating character. Peter is a wounded leader of the Church. His wounds were so severe that he could have fallen like Judas if he didn’t have the courage to face his own demons.

We ask "Why Peter?" when we see only the wounds and flaws. But seeing how much Peter endured, we ask, "Why not?" We owe him for enduring the heaviest cross, which was himself. He resisted his greatest demon, which was himself so that in the end, all of God would prevail in him. For those of us who aspire to tend the sheep, we should follow Peter's example. Let us not lose heart thinking "Why me?" The call of Peter is the call that Jesus makes for all. As a leader among the apostles, his decisions and his faith journey serve as an example to emulate.

I would like to end with an excerpt from one of the very early Liturgical Prefaces by St Ambrose: “You bent down over our wounds and healed us, giving us a medicine stronger than our afflictions, a mercy greater than our fault. In this way even sin, by virtue of your invincible love, served to elevate us to the divine life” (Sunday XVI per annum). Fr JM Manzano SJ