THERE IS A PETER IN ALL OF US
When ‘Titanic’ began to sink, the ancient prophecy came true: the rats deserted the giant vessel before anyone else did!
In this ship called Life, all of us
are rats… When the ship goes down, we don’t want to go down with it… We desert
the ship that sheltered us all this long… Now, we want to save our lives; and,
so, we jump off…
But, jump into what?
Well, that’s another story!
When
things are rocking in our lives, literally, the life around us is a great rock
show… We are surrounded by scores and scores of friends and well-wishers… They
swear by us… They claim, that they are ready to give life for us!
Yes, all this goes on as long as
the ‘Titanic’ sails gloriously along… When the weather is fair, the sea is
gentle and kind…
But, the moment the chips are
down, the moment the weather turns rough and the sea stormy, unsafe, there go the
deserters… the rats… all our fair-weather friends!
Always?
Yes, almost always!
“I
tell you Peter, you are the rock,” Jesus had, once, said to his most trusted
and loyal disciple, “and I will build over this rock my Church (Congregation),
and the powers of hell will not conquer it.”
Just before His tumultuous end
would come upon Him, when this most trusted and loyal disciple, Peter, would
claim before his Master, saying, “"Even if all fall away on account of
you, I never will," Jesus reminds him clearly, “"Peter, I tell you
the truth: this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three
times!" But, Peter still would declare, "Even if I have to die with
you, I will never disown you."
And all the other disciples said
the same…
And, that night, Jesus was
arrested and taken away to be tortured and hanged…
And, before the night ended,
before the rooster crew, our Peter, ‘the rock’, did deny his Master three times;
he did disown… And, so did all other disciples!
Everyone deserted the sinking
ship…
But, then, in Peter’s case,
something amazing happened: When he heard the rooster crowing on his third denial, he remembered what he had said to his Master and what the Master had said
to him… So, the Holy Book tells us, how Peter cried his heart out… How he
repented!
The
denial and the repentance of Peter, both, were equally dramatic
events in the life of Jesus… Both were needed to fulfill the prophecy!
And, therefore, it goes: There is
a Peter in all of us… We do desert our greatest Masters and friends… and our
most trusted and loyal disciples and friends do desert us, too…
All this before the rooster crows
and night ends…
All this when our ship goes down…
And, all this to remind ourselves
of the promise
we make and break over our loyalty in life…
And, yes, all this is needed to
fulfill the prophecies of our own lives… And, complete our own Testament…
Our own story.
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: VIVEK D'CUNHA
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