FLAWS AS FEATURE
“When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." - Lk 22:32
The various accounts of the Last Supper and the Passion we hear through Holy Week, like today’s Gospel, remind me of a crime scene reconstruction in a detective show, with subsequent witnesses adding to the reenactment. I imagine the scene in today's Gospel: Peter nods to signal the disciple next to Jesus; He asks, Jesus answers, then passes the morsel to Judas; Peter is indignant, pledges his readiness to lay down his life, and is told he’ll deny Jesus within hours. I imagine what might be going on in each mind and heart.
Peter gets so much right, and so much wrong. I’ve taught in many a religion class that Peter’s imperfection is not a flaw, it’s a feature. I love Luke 22:31-32 where Jesus tells Peter that he’s going to fail, and that he is already praying for him, so that when he fails and comes back from that failure, he’ll be that much more able to lead the others. I often use this scripture with retreat leaders.
That said, I think I’m only now, at 40, starting to actually embrace my own failings as a feature. Working from home and sheltering in place through the year has revealed a lot of the clutter and baggage in my garage, and in my life. What I “gave up” for 2020 [because of 2020, not a decision of mine] exposed things in my physical, mental, and spiritual health that I had to address to be able to respond to the challenges, griefs, and blessings the year brought. I find myself this Lent with Peter, with hope that where I am not able to follow Christ now, I will later.
Am I ready to offer God what I wasn't able to do? Do I believe God wants that too?
Jason Quito