Lent 2009: Day 36

A Lenten Journey through the Spiritual Alphabet
Psalm 119

Sadhe (part 2)
Though belittled and despised,
I do not forget your precepts.
Your justice is forever right,
your teaching forever true.
Though distress and anguish come upon me,
your commands are my delight.
Your decrees are forever just;
give me discernment that I may live
***
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, "You are not one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not."
The slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine. ……Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" ….Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas 11 the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not."
.... a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"
Again Peter denied it.
(excerpts John 18)
***

I can only imagine that Peter beat himself up for this over and over again until his, and our, redemption by the risen Christ.

Peter later wrote to persecuted Christians, “For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God” (1 Peter 2:20).

K...It is one thing if you are “beat-up” (hurt) because of your bad/wrong doings and go ahead and take it like a man.

However, to be "hurt" because of your good/right doings and take it, you are taking it like Jesus.

It is not only commendable to God, it is a sign of God working inside you.

and in that regard (when hurt for doing good) - it is not your “imperfection” that is being hurt by the person doing the hurting,
it is the "hurter's" lack of belief in the totality of God’s perfection/love that he or she is trying to beat up.

hmmmm...huh?

I suppose the heart of the matter, is that God forgives us, through the redemptive act of Jesus's life death and resurrection we are forgiven...

...when we can forgive ourselves and others, as opposed to beating up, we are letting God's ways work through with and in us.

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Lenten journey ponderings and wanderings
:o)