February 22: The Calling of Peter
♫ Music:
WEEK TWO
February 22 - February 28
Theme: Lessons From Peter
Lessons from the life of the Apostle Peter can be instructive for our lives as Christians today. Musician Michael Card suggests that the reason for getting to know Peter’s story is so that we might know Jesus better. The most developed figure in the New Testament after Jesus, Peter’s life is a striking testimony to the full spectrum of the human condition. We appreciate the Bible’s candor in painting a graphic picture of Peter’s complex personality and deep passion. Christ’s responses to Peter’s zeal as well as his shortcomings offer great comfort and hope to those who are earnestly seeking to follow the Master.
Sunday, February 22
Scripture: Matthew 4:18-20
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
THE CALLING OF PETER
Matthew’s portrait of Christ calling Peter and Andrew displays curious, amusing brevity. Such a momentous occasion in the lives of these two brothers, yet so little detail is provided. Jesus speaks once, issuing a strange offer—that they become “fishers of men.”
Luke’s account dwells longer upon the scene, noting the miraculous provision of fish as well as Peter’s dramatic recognition of Jesus’ holiness. These are important details, but the contraction of Matthew’s account underscores crucial aspects of Christ’s perhaps paradoxical call to discipleship.
Paradoxical because even as Jesus says, “Follow me,” He also reassures them. In offering to make Peter and Andrew “fishers of men,” Jesus affirms those most ordinary and quietly fundamental qualities of life in men who probably spent as much of their lives in a boat as on land. At the same time, Peter and Andrew are given to understand that what Jesus affirms He also names as the foundation for something much greater; something He neither reveals nor the brothers can imagine.
Covington’s sketch echoes this odd pairing of affirmation and invitation. Jesus reaches out toward Peter’s left hand—rough with callouses and, no doubt, permanently imbued with the smell of fish. The composition of the scene and the geometric lines Covington overlays upon it powerfully emphasize the two hands and the small gulf between them. Jesus’ left hand gestures away from the sea, but Peter hesitates. His countenance suggests uncertainty as he stands holding nets in his right hand, partially covered in the shadow of the sail while Andrew tends to items in the boat.
The geometric lines—thin but vibrant in yellow and red—might at first seem odd impositions, but they hint at the perfect orderliness and design of Christ’s salvation work. Peter has an important role in that work even though he cannot yet perceive it—the design is visible to Jesus—and to us—but not to him. He is, at this moment, wondering if he really just heard Jesus ask him to be a fisher of men. By contrast, Jesus is calm and unperturbed; undemanding. He makes his invitation with patience and compassion, giving Peter exactly what he needs in this moment to follow Him. Oswald Chambers writes: “Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of his ‘Follow Me’ was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive.”
Many of Jesus’ invitations to discipleship and holiness are like this. He comes to us in the midst of what seems normal and unextraordinary to affirm and invite us further into relationship; further into his kingdom story. And He does so in ways that are tailored to each of us, confident we will hear Him. As my dad once told me, “God speaks your language.”
PRAYER
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore thee,
a heart to delight in thee,
to follow and to enjoy thee,
for Christ's sake.
(Ambrose of Milan, c 339-97)
Phillip Aijian, Alumnus, Doctoral Candidate at UCI
Sketch for Christ Calls Peter and Andrew
N J Covington
Drawing
&
Jesus & Peter from The Bible Series
Directed and Produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett
Video
About the Artist & Art
Niki J. Covington has studied in Florence, Italy, and received a Certificate in Classical Architecture from the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art in New York. He now teaches drawing and anatomy at several schools across the country. The goal of his work is to “accomplish ‘un bel composto’, a synthesis of painting, sculpture and architecture.”
http://njcovington.blogspot.com/
About the Video
The Bible miniseries was produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, and first broadcast on the History Channel in 2013. The scene of Jesus calling Peter occurs in Episode 5—after the first four episodes focus on events of the Old Testament. Downey and Burnett, who are married, saw the project as personal and spiritual; they wanted more people to experience the story of the Bible. In 2014, after being nominated for three Emmy Awards, the series was adapted into the feature film The Son of God. Throughout production they consulted with numerous scholars and theologians. A sequel to the series: A.D. is scheduled to air on NBC starting Easter Sunday.
http://www.bibleseries.tv/
About the Music
Leave Your Nets lyrics
I saw him first by the sea
I heard him saying follow me
I’ll set you up, he said, for fishing again
This time you’ll be going after women and men.
And he said leave your nets boys and leave your trade
Leave the paltry little plans you've made
Come and be what you were born to be
Come along and follow me.
He had no cash, no security
No good connections, no temple authority
He had no place to call his own
Somehow like a magnet he kept leading us on.
I could never have known
On that day by the sea
I could never have known
The plans he was making
And if I had known
I would never have gone
The risk was much too high for the taking.
About the Musician
Though blind from birth, Ken Medema (b. 1943) has been writing, performing, and recording music since 1973. He originally began performing as a music therapist. Many of his compositions are birthed through the use of improvisation during performances. He has released most of his 26 albums through his independent recording company, Brier Patch Music.
http://kenmedema.com/