Crisis of Faith/Crisis of Love

by Fr. Thomas Keating

Chapter 19

Peter: The Formation of a Disciple

Part VI

Peter was in one of his "up" periods following the Transfiguration. He was, in fact, way up. For that reason he was in danger of a new and painful fall. Jesus took this occasion to make a little test: he spoke of his passion a second time. While they were wandering around in Galilee, Jesus said to the apostles: "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will put him to death, but on the third day, he will rise again."

They were all exceedingly distressed. This time Peter made no comment. He had learned his lesson; he was silent. But another humiliation was in store for him.

Jesus and his followers entered Capernaum and along came a tax collector. He interviewed Peter who evidently was representing himself as the spokesman for this delegation, and asked him, "Does not your Rabbi pay the temple dues?" (Everybody, of course, paid the temple dues.) Peter promptly replied, "Of course, our master pays the temple dues! We always pay our dues. We are law abiding citizens!" Any slur on the master was a slur on Peter too.

Then he went indoors and before he could say a word, Jesus called him to his side: "Let me have a word with you, Simon. What do you think, on whom do earthly sovereigns levy taxes, on their own children, or on outsiders?"

Peter was beginning to get uneasy about this conversation. Jesus was the Son of God. Obviously his heavenly Father owned the temple. As God's Son, he could hardly be expected to pay taxes to his Father. Peter had to answer the question the only way it could be answered: "On outsiders."

Jesus continued, "Then the children are exempt."

In other words: "Who do you think you are, committing me, not just yourself, to pay the temple dues?"

Once again Jesus asks a searching question to get Peter to enter into his motivation and to ask himself the "why." This is Peter in the raw. We see him in his predominant fault, human respect, the fault which later led him to deny Jesus three times.

First Peter says the "right thing" to please the tax collector. Then he says the "right thing" to please Jesus. That puts him in a dilemma: "I have said that my master pays the tax. But I see now that Jesus does not have to pay the tax. . ."

Peter was beginning to sweat. He is really in the frying pan. Once again, his impetuosity has gotten him into trouble. As usual he had spoken up too soon. He should have gone in and consulted Jesus first. He was not in charge of anything. That was the point Jesus wanted to make. Jesus had said, "Peter, on you I will build my Church," that is, in the future. Jesus did not give him any mandate that day. So Peter was chagrined.

Jesus graciously gets him off the hook. "However," he went on to say, and you can see Jesus smiling, "we must not give any offense," putting his finger squarely on Peter's problem. "Here is what you can do. Go down to the sea, throw in a hook, and grab the first fish that you come up with. Look in its mouth and you will find the coin to pay the tax. Take that to the tax collector for you and for me."

These words are full of humor and gentle irony. First of all, Peter is a big time fisherman with nets, not a hook. He has to go down to the shore, bait a hook, drop it in the water, sit there, and wait. And it becomes more and more obvious to him as time goes by, that the first fish that comes along will in fact have the necessary funds in its big mouth. The other disciples, who have followed him down to the shore to see how he made out, were not bashful about egging him on and congratulating him. This is Peter in all his delightful humanness, and Jesus in his.

Peter is now in one of his "down" periods. The sons of Zebedee thought that this might be a good time to press their ambitious claims. They persuaded their mother to suggest to Jesus that they have top places in the approaching Messianic kingdom. Accordingly, the mother of the sons of Zebedee came and prostrated herself in front of Jesus saying, "I have this favor to ask of you."

Jesus said, "What is your request?"

Grant that these, my own sons may sit with you, one on the right, the other on the left, in your kingdom."

You can see the blood starting to boil in the other disciples. "Why, these two sons of . . .!" And who was more indignant than Peter to see his two former partners trying to make off with the top places in the kingdom?

Jesus does not reply to her. He turns to the boys: "Do you realize what you are asking? Can you drink the cup that I will drink?"

Over and over again in the gospel, Jesus asks pointed questions. He does not usually tell people what is wrong with them, or that they are doing something stupid. He asks them a question that makes them look into their own inner motives and judge themselves.

The sons of Zebedee reply, "Yes, we can drink it."

Jesus' comment on this is, "Yes, you will drink my cup, but what you are asking for, I cannot give, because those places have been reserved for whomever my Father wants there."

Thus Jesus gently, but firmly puts them in their place.

And as soon as they were in their place, the other disciples became indignant towards the two brothers. Jesus then gave them all an important lesson on what authority is in his kingdom. "He who wants to be prince among you must be your servant, and he who would be a leader among you has got to be the slave of all."

In other words, "You have just got a totally wrong idea about what having the first place means."

To be continued

More information can be obtained by reading the book Crisis of Faith/Crisis of Love by Fr. Thomas Keating.  It is offered in our