“A Light to the Nations” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)

“A Light to the Nations” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)

Tuesday of Holy Week

Peter's Denial by Caravaggio [Public domain]

It is too little, (God) says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)

I will sing of your salvation. (Psalm 71:15ab)

Peter said to him, "Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times." (John 13:36-38)

Piety

We often think we receive graces and are divinely illuminated by means of brilliant candles. But from whence comes their light? From prayers, perhaps, of some humble, hidden soul, whose inward shining is not apparent to human eyes. (St. Therese of Lisieux)

Study

Oh, how we love to judge Peter. Cocky, scared, dense, literal Peter.

We hear it today. We heard it Sunday, Peter’s boast that he would lay down his life for Jesus. Jesus calls him on it, and of course, Jesus is right. Within hours, Peter has not laid down his life for Jesus but has denied him three times.

And we know we would never, ever do that.

Except we do, often, perhaps more often than we would like.

We deny Him when those around us make comments counter to our faith beliefs about abortion, immigration, and other hot-button issues… and we are silent.

We deny Him when we set up false gods of money, prestige, possessions, and earthly relationships and prioritize them before Him.

We deny Him when we are just too tired or too busy, night after night and day after day, to offer up even five minutes of prayer time.

We deny Him when we judge others on the above rather than recognizing the splinters in our own eyes.

You see, we are Peter at his worst: cocky, scared, dense, literal.

But we can also be Peter at his best: Having the courage to acknowledge our errors, the humility to come to the Lord for forgiveness, and the faith to accept His help in starting anew.

And when we do that, flawed as we are, certain as we are to fall again, we truly can become a light to the nations.

Action

Don’t boast about your faith today. Find a hidden way to put it into action.