“After rescuing him, Jesus said to Peter, ‘You man of weak faith! Why did you begin to have doubts?’ The Gospel doesn’t tell us anything about Jesus’ tone of voice or inflection. But I don’t think he was really chastising Peter. After all, Peter showed more faith than the eleven who remained in the boat.”

Rev. Adam Hamilton, “Simon Peter: Flawed but Faithful Disciple”

The blog has been difficult to write this week. If you hadn’t noticed, this chapter triggered a great deal within me. I have always felt an affinity with this story and with the desire to be out on the waves of life instead of being a “boat potato.” I haven’t always known how to get out of the boat, but it feels increasingly comfortable to be tossed out of the boat and onto the waves of life.

The last week of this study revolves around the story of Simon Peter on the beach after the resurrection, but I like to think that Peter learned the audacity to face down all his shortcomings and come back to Jesus because of moments like the experience we have studied this week. I like to think that Peter became far more familiar with learning gratitude while standing soaking wet in front of Jesus than he would have ever expected.

I, also, do not believe that Jesus was chastising SImon Peter for having a lack of faith. Peter was no boat potato. Peter may have stumbled, but Peter was out of the boat. Peter may have fallen in the water, but he was willing to do something others did not quite have the audacity to attempt. Peter may be many things, but he was seemingly never a coward. He faced the wind and the waves, would sit by the fire in the dark of night when all others were gone, and would be the first to rush for the beach. Yes, he was perhaps a bit overly enthusiastic with a sword, but he was still a man who had faith.

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Our church is offering a short-term Bible study for the season of Lent. While many studies for the season traditionally focus on spiritual practices or on the stories of holy week, this year we are reading “Simon Peter: Flawed but Faithful Disciple” by Rev. Adam Hamilton. The idea of the study is that we might consider how we follow Christ in our lives while considering the life of this flawed follower. These blog posts are designed with a principle I have learned from recovery work: “We identify with the stories of others and try not to contrast.” We grow more and live with greater serenity when we look for what we share in common with someone with whom we might otherwise disagree.