Tuesday, October 25, 2022

 

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Psalm 135

Nehemiah 4

1 Peter 1:12-21

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of His majesty.

Once upon a time, there were two men, both professors and Christians, who, in their spare time, wrote novels. Their shared aim was for each to write a story that contained, according to them, “true myths”. C. S. Lewis’ Narnia and J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings are both works that imagine fantastical worlds which, while obviously not meant to be interpreted as literal history, still contain fundamental truths. Tolkien was a little more delicate than Lewis; while Narnia’s Aslan is a literal Christ figure, Tolkien’s Middle Earth contained characters who would, at times, express virtues that could only be inspired by our Lord. For example: Gandalf’s resurrection; Aragorn’s return from the wilderness to victory and coronation as King.

While these two titans of English literature remain celebrated and relevant because their myths contain truth, there have been innumerable false prophets and teachers teaching cleverly devised inventions in an attempt to gain followers, esteem, fame and riches. Indeed, take any religion or spiritual discipline that does not have Christ as the goal and foundation and you will find human invention, identifiable by characteristics such as greed and selfishness, and human glory.

Peter was a fisherman. He did not have time for cleverly devised myths. His hands were calloused; he had seen the best and worst of human nature. He knew the value of hard work and the heartbreak caused by vain, greedy people. He especially knew of cowardice, and making up stories in order to protect one’s own image: after denying his Lord at the trial, one look from Jesus was all it took to break Peter’s heart. Peter is one of those men who, if he lived today, would wear hi-vis on weekdays, spend all his income on his wife and children, vote for politicians based on performance instead of tribal allegiance, and laugh at educated people who pronounced words funny and got paid for thinking in ways that denied reality.

He knows what he saw: on the Mount of Transfiguration, he was the one who was confused and offered to build three humpies, one each for Jesus, Elijah and Moses. But upon reflection, the confusion disappeared: there was no mystical imagery intended to be communicated which would enable Peter to be all that he could be. Rather, this was a direct, clear message from his Creator: Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the saviour of the world, God incarnate. This is why Peter ran to the open tomb, and why he was upset when Jesus challenged him on his love on the beach over fish and chips. Peter knew the truth, and was honest and manly enough to accept the truth, in spite of what challenges it would mean. As Christians, we live in the real world, in truth. The message of the cross could not have been invented; it is far too scandalous to have been imagined by a mere human. The prophets predicted it, and people saw those prophecies fulfilled, and so we can trust the Bible. This is truly living in the real world, as we should be, humans living as God’s representatives, with Christ as Lord, building the Kingdom of Heaven.