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THE DAY THAT PETER WEPT
"And Peter went out, and wept bitterly." [Luke 22:62, The Holy Bible, KJV]
1.
The day that Peter wept, an orange rooster felt
the sun upon his back, yet his crowing was final
and somber, like an omen, grimly foreshadowing,
like many church bells, before swords in the city.
Peter wept, as if in a doorway, his forehead
supported by wood, his crouched over form,
betraying himself. Peter wept bitterly, alone,
for there was nothing more left for him here.
Many demons were ready, unfurling their talons,
into welcoming gestures with unquestioning gazes,
desiring to have him, to fuel their false victories.
Would they finally be allowed to sift the wheat?
2.
Peter wept bitterly, but when the new morning finally came,
his beloved returned to comfort him. "Do you love me, Peter?"
"Yes, Lord." "Do you love me?" "Yes, Lord." "Lovest thou me?"
"You know that I do, Lord." Peter knew where he belonged,
because his flesh had been weak, but his spirit was strong.
3.
When I try to picture Peter's grief,
I see crumbling bridges, avalanches of mountains,
an anchored man weeping, holding onto a doorway.
I see an earthquake of suffering, a heaving chest,
that collapses into an ocean of overcoming.
I see empty nets strewn all over the beach.
I feel ancient temples of tradition rent in half,
the spirit of a man divided, then falling apart,
eyes of shock, tears of blood that cannot be wept,
in a prison of agony, from which there is no escape,
the pain of loss, from which there is no relief,
when I try to picture Peter's grief.
4.
Peter floundering in the ocean, for all to see,
desiring Jesus in a worldly way, is how I fall.
Even so, "You know that I love you, Lord",
like he loved you, but my heart is treacherous
and my flesh is weak, and so I bitterly weep,
in the open doorway, but you hold me upright,
for the many times, that I have betrayed you
moment by moment, yet season after season
my house stands sure, wintering the trials,
as you bolt the latch, so I do not stumble out
and down the stairs, into the world of death
and onto those many paths that lead to oblivion.
You are my rock and foundation, that I rest upon,
when the mountains be removed into the ocean,
you abide within me. You have never failed me.
5.
How the Lord Jesus loved his daring disciple, Peter,
gently dabbing the towel, onto the flesh of betrayal,
that it would make any sinner, amazed to behold it.
Many years later, strenghtened by The Holy Spirit,
Peter found himself, once more, against the wood.
God used Satan, to turn Peter's world, right-side up.
How God's holy angels must have thickened the air,
preparing to welcome him, into an eternal kingdom.
Peter, beloved of Jesus Christ, I think of him now,
his head finally at rest, upon the rock of the ages.
"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."
[John 21:17, The Holy Bible, KJV] |
