BELIEF IN JESUS

MATTHEW 26:69-75

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about!” As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.” Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!” A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.” At that he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately a cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly.  

Gospelthink: Peter was a human being who was too concerned about himself and therefore denied that he knew me.

"We were good, we were gold, we were right till we weren’t; built a home and watched it burn. I didn’t wanna leave you, I didn’t wanna lie, started to cry; but then remembered I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, talk to myself for hours, say things you don’t understand. I can take myself dancing and I can hold my own hand. Yeah, I can love me better than you can.”

Peter's denial of Jesus is well-known in Christian circles. He had boldly proclaimed to Jesus that he would never deny him, but in a moment of weakness, he did deny him, as Jesus had predicted that he would. There were no doubt many reasons why Peter made the promise originally, but perhaps the principal one was his over-confidence in himself, believing that he would never do such a thing. The problem with over-confidence is that we lose sight of who we are, and we tend to exaggerate our abilities. It is nothing more than selfishness.

Bragging about being self-sufficient is in the same category as being over-confident. A person who is self-sufficient can be a good or bad thing. In the same way that being confident can be good or bad. The lady in Miley Cyrus's song "Flowers" has been hurt in a love relationship and therefore argues that she must become self-sufficient in her life. Such a conclusion is very good because we must become confident in what we can do, but it could be something that will hurt her in the long run if she becomes too over-confident in her need for love and therefore neglects others. 

There is an important lesson here for the Christian as well as the person interested in romantic love. Being self-confident and self-sufficient is often the single ingredient that distinguishes a successful person from someone less successful. But being too concerned about oneself always allows for selfishness to enter into one's thinking. We tend to think that we can do anything, so to speak, and actually begin to speak and act with such thinking. It lends itself to self-deception and loss of friendship because people cannot tolerate selfishness.

The remedy to over-confidence is objectivity. We must be aware of our human natures, and the selfishness that we all quite naturally possess. We want to always look good in other's minds, and we tend to think the very best of ourselves. But we must always remember our humanness, and be careful when we make statements that may be nothing more than self-serving.

Peter made that mistake in his relationship with Jesus. The person in Miley Cyrus's song might be making the same mistake.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we want to be confident in our thinking and consider ourselves self-sufficient, but because of our human natures, we tend to be over-confident at times. Give us the grace to know our abilities and the humility to admit our shortcomings. Be with us, we pray. 

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Being self-sufficient is good, but it can lead to selfishness which is bad.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What  does the song "Flowers" teach young people?
2. When Judas realized he had betrayed Jesus, he killed himself. In your opinion, why did Peter not do harm to himself?
3. How would you define "self-sufficient"?
4. As you study the song, is the person in song being selfish or becoming self-sufficient?
5. What is your definition of "selfishness?
6. What does it mean to be "objective"?

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America