“Even if everyone else falls away,” said Peter, “I will not.”
oh yeah
even if put in a press
I won’t be squeezedmy integrity is unsurpassed
I yam what I yam
and that’s all what I yamI’m number one
no mater what James and John
try to pullthat’s all there is to it
I’m a rock
and will sit here forever
It wasn’t all that long ago that Peter said to Jesus when the subject of suffering and death was raised, “No, you can’t!”
Now Peter is saying to Jesus that when it comes to steadfastness, “Yes, I can”.
Peter would do well in today’s computer age where everything is binary (a “1” or a “0”) or a partisan political-divide elicits, “Only my way, never yours.”
Carrington318, in a nice turn of phrase, says of Peter, “It is his métier, in this book to talk too much.” It is this talking too much that indicates we are out of partnership with G*D and Neighb*r. At least one implication is that we are not feeling safe and have to retreat to an extreme.
Peter is a rock to be stumbled over. Even if all the rest of the disciples (not just Judas) should betray, Peter-the-Rock, will not stumble because he is so well grounded, eternally grounded.
It is this very self-assurance that will bring Peter to his knees in regret and remorse. With his surety, Peter is unable to imagine being less than the hero. According to some traditions he has the “keys to the kingdom”. This form of infallibility will come to haunt the church as it is forever incorporating the eternal in a time-bound decision and unable to adjust as “time makes ancient truth [drumroll] uncouth [rimshot!]”.
Carrington319 continues:
We learn or infer from Luke, that [Peter] had sold his cloak to buy two swords, and he was not afraid to use one of them. Nor was he afraid to follow Jesus (with a sword?) into the hall of the high priest. He had courage. And yet he failed.
The word “bravado” comes to mind in its current usage where the wildness of “Bravo!” has simply become an arrogant expression of power that turns out to not be so tough as that which is projected. Peter’s bluster is wide but not deep.