What happened when Peter Denied Jesus

Reflection on the Fourth Station delivered at the Holy Thursday liturgies 2024

In modern everyday language we might say to Peter “You had one job”. Yet he seemed to have failed dismally.? The irony of course is that while he assumed he was up for it, Jesus knew he would weaken and deny any association with him, telling him he would deny him, not once but three times. It seems Jesus knew Peter better than Peter knew himself.

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Of course, we have all been Peter. I am Peter. I too often think of myself first. We all do. We all have a sense or streak of self-centredness or selfishness. While Jesus preached being other-centred, life and social media tells us to think of ourselves first.? It is counter-cultural in the modern age. It remains one of my / our biggest challenges to put others first.?

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There will always be times in our life when we must think of others though.

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I try to remind myself of these three things. There will be times when we need to Stand Up for others.? You believe in a cause or have a particular belief - you need to defend it. There are times we need to Stand Out for others. Life is not a popularity contest.? Despite the risks, some of what we must do will not be popular and we must swim against the tide of popularity sometimes. There will also be times when we need to Stand Beside others. We need to be able to tell people - don’t worry I’ve got your back. It’s one of our key Catholic Social Teachings – solidarity.

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There is a beautiful line in John’s Gospel that Jesus utters - “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me”. John seems to get all the good lines.

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Peter didn’t get it. We must. The message in this Station is a simple one but so hard to live up to. We must, if we wish to be true to our faith, find ways to Stand Up, Stand Out and Stand Beside others.?

Don’t be Peter.

Sam Di Sano

St Pius X College