Monthly Archives: January 2012

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

The Miracles of Jesus (continued; part vi)

The presentation of the way that the Master was introduced to Peter varies according to the different gospels with only the Gospels of Matthew and Mark being in agreement. The church tends to refer to the differences as the call of the disciples and then the final call in a effort to explain the different renditions. Accepting the logic of it all as the gospels state, we should lean toward the Gospel of John as the primary source for this as he was among the first of the disciples in all of the synoptic versions and, in his own writing, it is assumed that he is one of the first  as well. This is however unclear as John does not name himself in his gospel at all but merely refers to himself as this one or that one. Suffice it say that according to John’s Gospel, Peter is likely aware of the Master and the teachings of John the Baptist as it is Peter’s brother Andrew that comes to the Master after being a follower of the Baptist and who took the time to find his Peter before following along with Jesus on that first day. From John’s presentation we see that there is an immediate relationship between Peter and the Master; as soon as Andrew brings Peter, the Master addresses him saying: “Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone” (John 1:42).

There are many other representations of the relationship between the Master and Peter throughout the gospels which show much the same as we looked at yesterday in Peter’s reactions as a man of flesh and not a the apostle that we know him to be from History. This is important because this is perhaps the only relationship that is truly represented in the words and the events of the gospels from which we can gain a Life’s lesson. In the story of Peter we should be able to see our own stories as aspiring disciples of the Christ; not in specifics but in broad generalities based on what we have been presented. Let us here look at a few of the encounters that are defined for us:

• First we should note that Peter is always first in the lists of the apostles; Matthew says it this way: “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother…..” (Matthew 10:2). Peter represents for us something of the art of becoming a disciple; he is our model if you will.
• Next we find Peter as the one asking the Master to “bid me come unto thee on the water” when he heard that it was the Master walking on the sea. We should note that this occurs soon after one of the greatest of the miracles of Jesus, the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, yet His disciples were frightened by this man on the water and were only calmed by His voice. So Peter asks and the Master replies for him to come and we then have this exchange: “And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried  saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased” (Matthew 14:28, 29-32). This is the first occasion for the Master to comment on Peter’s faith; we do not know how long Peter was on the water or how far he had gone but we know that he did get far enough for the Master to reach out His hand and catch him. In an instant, Peter believes that he can do this thing and then loses his Faith and requires the Master’s aid to pull him back.
• We come now to what is called Peter’s confession and here again is an interesting exchange. We take this again from the Gospel of Matthew as it is the most complete version; the Master, speaking to them all asks: “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-17). We see here that it is Peter who is able to answer the Master’s question, it is Peter who is commended by Jesus for being in touch with his spiritual self and thereby with the Father. Peter likely says this in the same strength that he leaves the ship to go to the Master on the water.
• This next part is subject to much dispute between segments of the church. The Master says: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19). The Catholics and some other denominations take this saying literally and cast Peter as the head of the church and its first Pope while most Protestants disagree, either because it is the Catholic position or for some other reason that does not seem to be grounded in the wording itself. That the Protestants disagree with the idea of Peter being the head of the Church and the first Pope is to be expected as this is along the lines of causes and the reasons for the reformation movement. Both of these ideas, the pro and the con, are however the ideas of men and not the ideas of the Master and it is men who argue over them and help to confound and confuse the people. What Jesus says to Peter is essentially what happened, he became the leader, the shepherd of the group of disciples and he took charge as he was appointed by the Master’s telling him to “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). There is much more that can be said here but we will save this for another time.
• Directly following this exchange in the last two points above we have the Master predicting, for the first time, His own suffering, death and resurrection and again we find Peter speaking out. We will again take this from Matthew’s Gospel as it is the most complete rendition. The text goes thus: “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying , Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Matthew 16:21-23). We see Peter here trying to protect the Master from harm but seeing it all and speaking as a man in form and not as the Soul expressing itself through form. We do not know here if there is anger or displeasure in the Master’s tone but we do know that this is unlikely. The idea here of Satan is not the personality nor is Jesus offended as we understand that word today. Jesus would not call Peter Satan as in the ‘evil one’ but uses the word as it is likely intended in most places where it is written; that is to represent the principals that the word defines. These are not necessarily evil as we sometimes understand it but rather of the baser sort of worldly ideas; we have addressed these ideas before (In the Words of Jesus parts 100, 110 and 153 to name some) as well as the thought that should be conveyed by the word translated as offence (part 173). This word translated as offense should be understood in the context of stumbling block; Vincent tells us that it should be seen as thou art in my way⁴ which certainly fits the whole of the context here. Remember that the Master had just finished praising Peter and exalting him and his status among the disciples. What then do we have here? Peter is acting as the man and not as the disciple through whom the Light of the Soul is flowing and here, the Master calls him on this as to say ‘Peter, don’t think like this, as a man but think as I do; see the whole picture in the Light.’
• Next comes the Transfiguration of the Master which we will take from the Gospel of Mark as it is believed that Mark wrote from his gospel from his recollection of the words that Peter spoke to him about these things. The text goes thus: “And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead” (Mark 9:2-9). We have spoken before about our idea that there are certain intercessions made to ensure the working out of the Great Plan of God and this episode can be seen as one of these. There is no purpose here but to reinforce the spiritual ideas of the Christ and His mission in the minds of His three primary disciples; the Master needs nothing from this for Himself. We see here that after all the teaching and all the miracles, the healings, the raising of the dead, the multiplication of the loaves, etc.; there is still fear and there is still doubt and, at least from Peter’s perspective, there is still the tendency to think like a man which we see in his offer to build tabernacles. This intercession likely goes a long way in reinforcing the Faith of the three disciples that witness it.
• Our last stop in this journey through Peter’s time with the Master, a time that builds him up to that point with which we started our look at Peter in these last essays. It the interaction between the Master and Peter in the Garden at Gethsemane. Here again we have Jesus bringing Peter and James and John, His three primary disciples, to pray with Him in the Garden; the story is twofold, the time of prayer and the time in which the Master is taken. Again from Mark’s Gospel we find: “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Mark 14:32-41). Here we see Peter’s plight, as well as the others, in the words of the Master who, speaking directly at Peter says: “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak” thus acknowledging what we have seen throughout these thoughts today and yesterday about Peter and which is the Truth regarding everyone who aspires to be His disciple. It is so easy to fall back into the ways of the world, again, not necessarily evil ways but ways of the world and not the ways of the Christ Within. This segment ends with with Jesus arrest and Peter’s attempts to protect Him with the sword but “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11).

Intermingled with the above is the Master’s prophecy of Peter’s denial and their interaction as the Master is washing the disciples feet. Both these can serve to increase our point that Peter is rather consistently falling back from his high place of knowing of Jesus that “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God“; reacting again and again as the man in the world and not the man that is imbued with the Light of the Soul, a disciple of the Christ. We pass from here into the those points that we covered yesterday and in these final interactions we find Peter, with the help of the Master, coming of age and coming to that full realization of his True nature and his destiny. Through his own reaction to his denial of the Master and his doubt at the resurrection we find Peter’s final acceptance and then, through His interaction with the resurrected Master, we find his total acceptance and readiness to go forward as a True disciple of the Christ who takes up the command of the Master who tells him to “Feed my sheep“.

As aspiring disciples we can likely see our own journey through Peter’s journey and his interactions with Jesus as our interactions with the Christ Within. We are called by the Christ and the Christ within and we answer that call by our desire to focus on Him. Though we know where we are going we are at the same time uncertain as there is no discernible direction and no one to show us except that Light which we get from the Christ Within and in this we often find cause to doubt. We may reach out to do the works of the Master, to keep His words but we find ourselves in a sea of uncertainty but as we sink down into the carnal world the Master, the Christ Within, reaches out to catch us. We read of and we see in our own consciousness the miraculous happenings of spiritual Life, the Peace and the Love and the ultimate purpose, yet we still forget these things and fall back into the illusion of worldly life creating a stumbling block for the Life of the Christ Within. By His words we overcome and some of us reach that Mount of Transfiguration where we can clearly see our own Christ Within standing in the place of Glory and feel that sudden rush of oneness with all things that are of the Good, the Beautiful and the True; we are no longer identified with Life in form. Yet even this cannot prevent some backsliding into our worldly thoughts and ways but through the prodding of the Christ we renew our strength and we come into the Garden, that place where we must give up all that exists in our illusory world of form for “the cup which my Father hath given me“. Even here there is still resistance and doubt; even as one finally can be among those who “are Christ’s” by having “crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24), there is still that creeping doubt and uncertainty through which we suffer until we can see the Christ risen and alive in our daily lives radiating His Peace and His Love over us and giving us that assurance that we can now understand and accept. This is the road to becoming a True Disciple of the Christ. It is here in this final assurance that one can find the power to do as did the Apostle Peter of whom we read:

“Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one“

Which is a confirmation to us of those words told us by the Master:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).

Note on the Quote of the Day