Reading is a favorite pastime of mine. I have a stack of “to
be read” books on my nightstand and a list of them in my head. The stack is
high and the list is long because it takes me a while to finish a book. I am deliberate
about my reading, which is just a fancy way of saying I am a slow reader.
I read and reread paragraphs and pages because I want to be
absolutely sure I understand what the author is trying to communicate. I hate
to get to the last couple of chapters and find a reference to something earlier
in the book that I can’t connect with the storyline. I don’t want to miss
anything so I read and reread.
It’s a wonder I got through college reading like that. I took
a religion class because it was a graduation requirement for every single
student at the university I attended. The school was financially supported by a
religious denomination at the time, and that requirement was one of the concessions
for accepting the money. I did a lot of reading and rereading in that Religion 101
textbook. Thankfully I passed and went back to the classes that were more
relative to my major.
Every student also had to pass a swimming test before they could graduate. I have no idea what was behind that requirement other than it was Florida and there’s a lot of water there. I wasn’t a very good swimmer so I took Swimming 101 for credit. I swam laps for an entire semester because I didn’t want to take the test without ever having been in the pool. It was the aquatic version of reading and rereading.
I could tell more stories about my college days, but really,
it’s one of those things where you just had to be there. There’s nothing like
being an eyewitness to make it more meaningful.
I don’t think the disciple Peter was anything like me. He
never seemed to hesitate. He didn’t feel the need to reread anything. He didn’t
always get it right, but that didn’t stop him. He spoke up. He stepped up. He
stepped out of the boat and sank. Perhaps that was one time he could have
benefited from rereading the disciple handbook, or at least a Swimming 101
course.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, one of the first sermons
came from Peter. In Acts 2 he starts by telling them, “listen carefully to what
I say.” New Christians then were not just the first ones in their family or in
their circle of friends, they were the first Christians ever. Peter had been an
eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry which gave him credibility in telling them what would
be required of them as Christians. He also knew there were people like me there
who needed to be reminded to pay attention because they might not get a chance
to reread it.
In that sermon Peter talked about Jesus. He quoted
scriptures. Those are the things he wanted them to think about over and over.
What he didn’t talk about was his unsuccessful water-walking adventure. We can
read and reread the Bible and never find a record of Peter talking about it.
Matthew is the one who told that story earlier. Peter probably wanted to
forget, but he likely was reminded over and over by the other disciples who
never got out of the boat. Isn’t that how it usually goes? We don’t like to
talk about the things we don’t get quite right, but everyone else does. All the
more reason to be reminded of what we should be thinking and talking about.
Just a few years after that sermon, Peter knew his days were
numbered. In the last letter he wrote to new Christians he says, “Humble
yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due
time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (2 Peter 5:6).
Those sound like words that come from someone with firsthand experience of
sinking in the sea. When he recalled it, all he really remembered was who it
was that saved him. Keep thinking about Jesus.
The was originally posted October 26, 2014 on The Press and Standard's website:
No comments:
Post a Comment