Thursday, June 29, 2006

One way and another, the Collect for today seems particularly apt...

Almighty God
who inspired your apostle Saint Peter
to confess Jesus as Christ and Son of the living God:
Build up your Church upon this rock,
that in unity and peace it may proclaim one truth
and follow one Lord, your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.


As a Myers Briggs "F", who often threatens to be overwhelmed by her feelings, I've always been very fond of St Peter. If ever there was a saint whose heart ruled his head, it must surely be he. Actually, I suspect he was probably ENFP,- with sudden wonderful bursts of intuition which shine through the gospels
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
"To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!"
He was also, of course, the fool who sometimes rushed in where angels feared to tread, a mercurial character whose up times were the height of exaltation
"It's good, Lord, to be here" but whose downs were very much like drowning.

A long long time ago, when I first made my confession to a priest (in a wonderful church in South London which formed my faith in so many ways) I was given the commissioning of Peter from John 21 to read as my penance. Lo and behold, it kept cropping up on every similar occasion from then on until I finally found that same passage open on the prie dieux in the chapel at my first (abortive) selection conference.
Today, of course, we read it again...and I found myself overwhelmed once again,- this time with gratitude that as God used this incredibly human man, whose faults and virtues are non negotiably there whenever we read the gospels, he is also willing to use us,- use me, maelstrom of feelings and all!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peter is my favourite. For many of the reasons you like him too :)

Clare said...

Hi

Just to say that I've been reading your blog for a long time and always enjoy it.

I know we're a world apart theologically but only a couple of miles physically - and I especially enjoy the local 'flavour' you give to things. Serving the church in Cheltenham is a lot about understanding how the Cheltonian thinks and acts. And I haven't figured that out properly either!

Blessings

fb

Clare said...

Oooh!

And I just noticed your link to sjtd kennington. Not part of my theological tradition but I went to school for three years at Archbishop Tenisons at the Oval, and I sang solos at sjtd.

Ah, those soprano days...

Kathryn said...

ooh FB,- I was a chorister at SJDK too...who was director of music when you were there? (Looking at your profile and seeing you scarily young you are, I can't work out if you would have overlapped with any of the multiple phases when Colin Baldy was there, or not)
It's a good place, regardless of your theology, I think!

Rebecca said...

I heart Peter. I think I said that before, but I do.

Clare said...

29 doesn't feel so young!

I sang there as part of the Archbishop Tenisons choir, not the church choir - for education events (all the anglican schools getting together etc)

fb