ONLY JESUS

Peter sensing something crawling on his face brushed his cheek. Just as he was fading back into sleep he felt the annoying pest on his ear and determined to put an end to the crawling creature’s attempts to wake him once and for all. Smack his hand came down on the side of his face and then laughter rose up and with that Peter sat up to see James and John laughing and in James’ hand Peter spied the annoying pest; a plant stem. “Very funny,” Peter said with a yawn.

John stood and grabbed hold of Peter’s arm, helping the big man to his feet as he said, “Come on mighty fisherman, Jesus is making breakfast and he wants us to eat and then we are heading out.” Peter stretched and asked, “Where are we going?” John replied as he turned to follow James who had already sprinted across to where Jesus was sitting before a crackling fire over which breakfast sizzled. “I don’t know, but he wants to leave as soon as we eat.”

Peter slid his feet into his sandals and made the short walk to where the three men were waiting for him. The fish smelled delicious and suddenly Peter realized he was starved and quickly took a seat next to John. “Good morning, Peter,” Jesus said with genuine gladness in his voice. “Good morning,” Peter replied as he accepted the fish from Jesus’ hand. They waited for Jesus to give thanks for the food and then they dove in to the meal with gusto.

They finished eating, gathered up a few things and headed out into the foothills. The early morning air was cool and a bit of a breeze carried with it the sweet fragrance of spring. “A perfect morning for walking,” Peter thought to himself as he caught up with his friends. They talked a while about nothing in particular; mostly old fishing stories. Jesus then turned and began leading them up the mountainside.

James and John were a few paces behind Jesus and Peter slowed his pace and began thinking of how different his life was since he met Jesus. Everywhere Jesus went he caused a stir. The lame walked. The blind saw. Lepers were cleansed. People were being changed by this man. Peter had observed firsthand those who encountered Jesus. They came away hating him or loving him but no one left his presence without impact. He wanted to be around him to hear everything he said but more than that now; he wanted to be like him.

It was not always easy. Jesus was increasingly challenging him about everything he’d always thought or known about God, about life about what was and wasn’t important. Jesus had turned his world upside down and inside out. Yes, that was one thing Peter knew for certain; you could not know Jesus and stay the same. His thoughts turned to six days earlier when he and the other disciples were with Jesus in Bethsaida. Peter could be, well, impulsive. He didn’t always think things through before he acted or spoke. He thought he had Jesus and his mission pretty well figured out. He thought Jesus would be with them forever and that the rest of his life would be spent working alongside this man. Well, he was partly right.

It began with a simple question. Jesus asked the disciples who the people were saying he was. The reply was that some said he was John the Baptist while others said he was Jeremiah or Elijah or perhaps one of the other prophets. Then Jesus looked at each man whom He had chosen and asked “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter looked Jesus in the eye as he answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of God.” What Jesus said next Peter could not even begin to grasp. Jesus had put a hand on Peter’s shoulder, looked into his eyes and said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven, and whatever you open on earth will be opened in heaven.”

Then Jesus had told them not to tell anyone he was the Christ. Peter shook his head at the memory. How could he expect them not to tell anyone who he was? After all, He was Messiah; the One they had waited for and now He was right here with them walking up a mountainside. He returned to his thoughts; kicking a stone as his memory stung with what had happened next. Jesus explained to them that soon he would go to Jerusalem and there he would suffer and then be killed and on the third day be raised to life again.

Somehow Peter did not hear the being raised to life again part; instead he had focused on the suffering and being killed part; it was more than he could stand. Even now his hands clenched at the thought of anyone trying to kill him. Impulse took over and he pulled Jesus aside and with great passion declared, “”Heaven forbid, Lord. This will never happen to you!” He thought he was being noble. He wanted Jesus to know that he had his back and that he would protect him. Jesus had put out a hand stopping Peter where he stood; but it wasn’t his hand that had stopped him but the look on his face and then the words. Jesus said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God’s.” Peter stood in stunned silence. Once again Jesus had taken what had appeared to be right and challenged him to see things from God’s perspective and not his own.

Jesus then drew him in with the other disciples and said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth your soul? For I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds. And I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see me, the Son of Man, coming in my Kingdom.”

“My friend, I think you are getting too old for climbing mountains.” John said bringing Peter back to the present. John slapped Peter good naturedly on the back as he said, “Come on! Hurry, Teacher is asking for you.” Peter and John picked up their pace and quickly caught up with James and Jesus and a few minutes later they reached the mountain summit. Peter, James and John, weary from the climb sat down on some boulders as Jesus walked a short distance from them. They assumed he was going to pray as He often did. Nothing could have prepared them for what they saw next.

As they watched Jesus walking away from them, his appearance changed. It was strange; not a change on the outside but more like something from the inside changed his outward appearance. His face shown like the sun and his clothes became so white they defied description. Suddenly there appeared out of nowhere two men and on looking more closely Peter recognized them. He leaned over to John and said, “Do you know who that is standing and talking with Jesus? It’s Moses and Elijah!”

His focus had turned from Jesus to Moses and Elijah. Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to get up and do something. He was hoping he would get to talk to them. There was so much he would love to ask them. Suddenly an idea came to him and jumping to his feet he said in a voice loud enough for all to hear, “Lord, this is wonderful! If you want me to, I’ll make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He was going to continue but before he could a cloud enveloped them. It was a cloud unlike any he had ever seen. It came suddenly and it had a kind of luminescence about it. He opened his mouth to say something to James but before he could a voice came from the cloud. The voice was indescribable. He could not pinpoint its direction. It seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere; the very mountain seemed to rumble with the power of it. “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to Him.”
Peter fell face down. The big man lay quietly every limb trembling in awe and wonder and emotions he couldn’t identify; his hands clenched as he struggled to cling to the mountaintop. His heart was pounding in his ears. He lay there as the words spoken sank in and he knew he had heard God’s voice. “Listen to Him”, God had said. As Peter lay motionless the hand of Jesus rested on his back and he said, “Get up. Don’t be afraid.” Peter slowly lifted his face out of the dirt and with God’s words still echoing in his ears he looked around and then his eyes came to rest on Him; the One marked by the Father’s love, the focus of His delight. Yes, he had seen remarkable things this day. He had seen Moses and Elijah but nothing compared to Him. All distractions were gone and the only one his eyes saw was Jesus, only Jesus.

And then they descended the mountain with Jesus leading them into the valley…but that’s another “Conversation”.

An Original Conversations at the Well
© Copyright Diana Morgan 2009