Stories like
these gave me the impression that Jesus was a grumpy impatient dude, which fit
with my childhood impression of the Father being a vengeful asshole. The thing
of course I missed at the time was the fact that Jesus came down from the
mountain after talking to heavenly residents about his future trial, torture
and death. Which, y’know would make anyone grumpy.
Lately
though, my impression of Jesus has become much more lighthearted in general
than previously. I’ve come to believe for the most part, Jesus really gets a
kick out of the oddballs of this world; which explains why Peter is His
favorite. I’ve got a serious conversation to have today, let me be sure to
bring Peter, cause he makes me laugh.
As a side
note, it’s the story of Zacchaeus that really got me thinking this way. Jesus
sees a short guy up in a tree and says, “I gotta have dinner with this dude!”
He’s just delighting in this guy’s total lack of decorum. And of course this
all fits with God picking the unlikely people for his prophets. Moses
stuttered, David was a runt, Jonah was seemingly the worst candidate you could
possibly pick to preach repentance to the Nineveh.
“Depart from
me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” are some of the first words Peter ever said to
Jesus. Jesus’s response? “Don’t be afraid.” Then Jesus tells Peter that he will
be Jesus’ prophet. As the Gospels progress it’s pretty much Peter that says the
goofiest things, It’s not really spread out among the 12. Now in Luke and
John’s Gospel, you’d expect this as both Gospels would want to downplay Peter
in favor of Paul (Luke wrote Acts remember) and John’s beloved disciple.
However most
of the goofy sayings can be found in Mark, which is actually thought to be in
the tradition of what Peter taught. Which means Peter is remarkably humble and
vulnerable in admitting his own faults. And as I’ve been hammering into your
heads, vulnerability is a major path to following Jesus.
We’re not
even sure if Jesus heard Peter make his goofy remark about tents. I’m convinced
Jesus would have been terribly amused by it. Instead God descends in a cloud
and says, “Shhhh, listen.” Which reminds me of the Martha and Mary story. The
better part is not being busy but listening to Jesus.
Beyond the
gist of what Jesus is talking to with Moses and Elijah, we and presumably
Peter, John and James, do not get details. Right after the healing at the
bottom of the mountain though, Jesus tells the disciples about His impending
passion.
Jesus gets
to the bottom of the mountain and hears some dude ranting about his only son.
“You wanna talk only Son and what that means, Pal? I can tell you ALL about
it.” Even though He asks the question, Jesus has a pretty good idea how long he
has to put up with this shit.
Now in
Mark’s version the kid’s father says the famous lines, “I believe, help my
disbelief,” and he later councils the disciples on how to get rid of this kind
of demon. This is consistent with the petitioner’s faith having much to do with
the success of a miracle. Luke omits all this, though, so that it sounds like
Jesus’ frustration is with His disciples. Possibly to contrast this with Paul’s
unshakable faith.
Mark’s
version hammers home the vulnerability needed. Help my unbelief. Admitting our
short comings, literally willing to expose where we fall short of who we want
to be, is a very good attitude to bring into Lent. Don’t be afraid, Jesus tells
us, it’s the arrogance of the kid’s father in demanding of Jesus what His
disciples couldn’t do, that upsets Jesus. Jesus responds to the vulnerability of
the dad admitting the weakness of his faith. Chances are Jesus will find your
faults amusing, not things that prevent you from being His prophet.
