But Peter denied it again. A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.” Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” [Mark 14 (NLT)]
Described as a “preaching genius…like no other preacher you have ever heard,” the late Rev. Fred Craddock was well-known for including stories in his sermons. He told one that took place during the early 60s in a diner in the deep South. Although the white Craddock sat in a booth and was served with courtesy and consideration, he silently watched the diner’s manager treat a Black man at the counter with rudeness, disdain, and open contempt. Although offended by the man’s racist behavior, Craddock remained silent. It was when he walked out of the diner after finishing his meal that the preacher heard a rooster crow. A signal of his betrayal, the crowing told the preacher that, by ignoring one of the “least of these”, he’d ignored Jesus! His silence was as much a betrayal of the Lord as were Peter’s denials!
Of course, to understand the impact of Craddock’s story on him and those who heard him tell it, you must be familiar with the story of Peter and his denial of Jesus. After finishing what would be known as the “Last Supper,” Jesus and the disciples went out to the Mount of Olives. When Jesus predicted that all the disciples would desert Him that night, Peter and the others protested saying they’d never deny Him. Outraged at the thought of denying the Lord, Peter insisted, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” Jesus, however, told the overconfident disciple that he would, indeed, deny knowing the Lord three times before the rooster crowed. Within a few hours, the man who claimed a willingness to join Jesus in prison and death denied knowing Jesus three times before the rooster announced the break of day with his crow.
The stories of Peter and Fred Craddock remind us that our faith is more vulnerable than we think. While I’ve never heard an actual rooster crow after denying the Lord, like those men, I’ve denied Jesus every time I’ve ignored His face in the faces of God’s children. While we may not have denied knowing Jesus as did Peter, like Craddock, we’ve denied Him when, like the goats in Jesus’ parable, we fail to be His disciples. We deny following the Galilean whenever we fail to be the hands of Jesus and serve the needy, to be the voice of Jesus and speak for the disenfranchised, or be the feet of Jesus and walk the extra mile for our neighbor.
Although Scripture assures us of God’s provision, presence, and power, when push comes to shove, it’s hard to fully trust a God we don’t see and whose ways we can’t fully understand! That’s when Satan gets busy behind the scenes instilling doubt, cowardice, and shame into our hearts. Rather than trust God’s strength more than our own, we begin to fear failure, rejection, and involvement. Rather than hear His call and cede control to Him, we’re like the priest and Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan—we turn a blind eye to the suffering and a deaf ear to their cries!
We are fallen people living in a fallen world and, at times, we will fail to be the people Jesus calls us to be. We will fail to see Jesus in our midst and the cock will crow! Nevertheless, we must never allow those failures to defeat us. Peter—the one who lied three times with his blatant denial of Jesus—did not remain a prisoner to his fear or shame. He became the Apostle who boldly spoke of Jesus to the high council and, despite the threats, continued to speak of Christ until he, like his Lord, was crucified! Craddock didn’t let his failure stop him either. He told his story and others like it and, thirty years later, the man who remained silent when he should have spoken was named one of the twelve most influential preachers in America. Neither man was defined by his failures and neither are we. In nature, goats can never become sheep but, in God’s kingdom, by the power of the Holy Spirit, they can!
All men will be Peters in their bragging tongue, and most men will be Peters in their base denial; but few men will be Peters in their quick repentance. [Owen Feltham]
Having previously warned people that not everyone who claimed to follow Him would enter the Kingdom, Jesus told the Parable of the Sheep and Goats in which He likened the last judgment to a king separating the sheep from the goats at the end of the day. Placing the sheep to His right and the goats to His left, the King invites the sheep into the Kingdom. The reasoning behind His selection is disarmingly simple: “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” [Matthew 25:35-36] Having failed to do those things, the goats are sent into eternal punishment.
When a nomikós (Scripture lawyer, an expert in religious law) tested Jesus by asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, the Lord countered with his own question, “What does the law say?” When the man responds with the words of Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, Jesus says he’s answered correctly. Wanting clarification, he then asks, “Who is my neighbor?” His query tells us the nomikós is more interested in the letter of the law than its spirit. Apparently, he wouldn’t want to waste any love on someone who wasn’t his neighbor or miss loving someone who was! Jesus answers the man’s question with one of his best-known stories—the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Brent Askari’s play, The Refugees, begins with an unusual premise. Because of a violent civil war in the United States, an upscale American family become refugees in a Middle Eastern country. When the family’s Arab social worker referred to the American refugees as “you people,” the once suburban housewife’s expression spoke volumes. In her previous Connecticut life, anyone who wasn’t white and upper middle class had been “those people” but the tables have turned and the roles reversed. Instead of being the ones with the money and advantages, her family and others like them are “those people:” a minority, seeking asylum in a new country, unfamiliar with the customs, and unable to read, write, or speak the language. Wearing clothes they once would have sent to Goodwill, they need government assistance to survive. Her once high-priced lawyer husband is now a stock boy whose boss takes advantage of his immigrant status. This family and other American refugees are as unwelcome in the unnamed Arab country as are the refugees at our border.
My son has a beautiful pomegranate tree in his yard but, when he first purchased the property, he didn’t know what it was. Although showy red flowers eventually appeared, it wasn’t until the flowers developed into deep-red globe-shaped fruit that he knew it was a pomegranate. The tree was recognized by its fruit and it is by our fruit that Christ’s followers are recognized.
Spiritual gifts build God’s Kingdom in a variety of ways including teaching, outreach, speaking, counseling, discipleship, serving, practical assistance, visitation, and prayer. Our gifts were given for the common good of Christ’s church and we need one another’s gifts for the body of Christ to function. Within the church, some gifts, like shepherding, evangelism, or leadership, are easily noticed while others, such as mercy, giving, intercession, and faith may be less obvious. While those gifted in service (the ability to see undone tasks in God’s work and get them done) often work behind the scene, the people gifted in hospitality (the ability to warmly welcome all people into home or church) are front and center Sunday mornings as they greet people by name and extend the hand of friendship to visitors.
Devotions of the Heart 