Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, March 18, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Ouch. Poor Peter. So enthusiastic. So passionate and zealous. So…human.
I feel like Peter on the regular, to be honest. I want so much to be out in the streets marching for justice, standing on the front lines advocating for human and civil rights in this country, leading the charge to transform the systems that exacerbate the climate crisis. Yet most of the time it’s all I can do to support myself and parent my special-needs adult children. And then I hear the cock crow three times and realize I’ve let Jesus down again.
On the other hand, Peter probably needed some humility in all of this, as I do. It wasn’t his time to die with Jesus. He had lots of important work to do after the fact. And he needed to approach it with the clear understanding that he, Peter, was not Jesus, was not a divine being, was not supposed to single-handedly save the world. He had to learn his own limitations. As I have had to learn mine. I am still learning, and sometimes it’s painful. But, like Peter, I am forgiven where I fall short and, at the same time, committed to the work of the gospel—hence these devotions and all the work I do at Clergy Stuff. I hope Jesus continues to inspire and challenge me to do what I can to bring his love into the world.
Do I know my own limitations? Are there places I can push myself to do more? Are there places where I need to practice humility and acceptance?
