What's Your Name?

Each night, I've been reading these blog posts I've been writing to my children as a part of their going-to-bed routine. Last night, my son read over my shoulder as I said the words aloud, and then when I was done, he asked: "Why did you call your blog The Leaky Vessel?"

I explained to him that I'd based the title on 2 Corinthians 4:7-8, where it says: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

We talked about pottery, a potter's wheel, the formation of clay vessels, and how people are often compared to vessels in the Scriptures (Jeremiah 18:1-6, Isaiah 45:9, 2 Corinthians 4:7, etc.). Chipped. Flaking. Warped. Cracked, and once fissured, good for nothing... except.

Except!

"To show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us!"

We talked about how very chipped and cracked we are, and I told my son how much I wanted to get out of the way, so far out of the way, that when people look at me, all they see... is Jesus. The only thing I want others to see is the all-surpassing power of God at work in this imperfect, highly-flawed vessel.

Of all the leaky vessels ever exemplified in Scripture, I think Peter was one of the leakiest. This disciple of Christ is well-known for his hot-headed, impulsive nature. He reminds me... of me. 

Case in point? Mount of Transfiguration: Peter sees this amazing, glorious, truly astounding scene playing out right in front of him. Jesus stands nearby speaking with two men, and somehow, they are recognizable. Peter instantly knows that they are Elijah and Moses, who are supposed to be centuries-dead, and here they are, just shooting the breeze with Jesus like it ain't no thing. Then Peter hears the voice of God thunder through the heavens to boot. "This is my Son Whom I love. With Him, I am well-pleased. Listen to Him!" 

So Peter says: "Let's build three houses, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus." It's worth noting that accompanying two out of three accounts of this story in the Gospels, Peter is described as "not knowing what he was saying." Matthew kindly blankets over Peter's nonsensical blip, but both Mark and Luke parenthetically include a side-note, to paraphrase: Peter is so overwhelmed by the glory of God, by the miracle happening, so awed by the scene in front of him, that he just opens his mouth and words fall out.

An oft-repeated mild joke that passes between my husband and me is when he leans over now and then and whispers: "Check with me before you talk." This goes back to dating days where I would often open my mouth and say the first thing that entered my head without processing it, and sometimes when the words would come out, they just... weren't the right ones. We laugh about those moments now (even though they still happen occasionally), but I picture Peter in this same boat (heh, no pun intended), and his friends James and John face-palming as Peter opens his mouth. Check with us before you talk.

Where else do we see Leaky Vessel Peter? Garden of Gethsemane: Judas has just betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and the soldiers arrest Him and are preparing to lead him out of the Garden. Peter draws his sword and hacks off a man's ear, a servant of the high priest. Jesus rebukes Peter sharply: "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" And he replaces the ear Peter cut off and heals the man.

Impetuous, yes. Flawed, highly. Fervent? Without a doubt.

Peter's most egregious fissure in his vessel happens that same night. Terrified for his own safety, yet unable to stay away from where Jesus is being questioned and beaten, he comes closer to the fire, trying to keep an eye on what's going on with his beloved Teacher. I'm sure the horror is clawing through him; I'm sure his despair is bringing that impetuous nature so much nearer the surface.

And three times over the course of those hours, someone recognizes him and claims that he is a disciple of the very Man who is under arrest. "No, I'm not!" Peter says hotly, knowing full well that if he is discovered, he, too, will likely be arrested. 

The rooster crows, and Peter remembers Jesus looking him directly in the eyes not long before when Peter had declared his devotion to Him, and saying: "I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." 

Jesus knows our flaws, our mistakes, our deliberate denials... even before we make them. And He still loves us enough to die in our place! 

Look where Peter ends up: on a beach with Jesus post-resurrection, where Jesus gives him his life's work: "Feed my sheep," repeated three times. Peter becomes one of the foremost apostles following Jesus's death, one of the boldest, one of the most fervent in speaking out no matter the opposition, one of the most solid, entrenched disciples in his dedication to the Great Commission, truly... a rock.

Peter had many lessons to learn before he could push himself so completely to one side that the only thing people could see when they looked at him was the all-surpassing power of God at work in him. How much I want to do the same, be the same!

John 1:35-42 is the beginning of Peter's journey. Here is where we first meet him in the Gospel of John. Here is where, coming at the request of his brother Andrew, Peter looks into Jesus' eyes for the first time, and Jesus says: "You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter)." 

Cephas is the Aramaic word for "Rock," and Peter is the Greek word for "Rock."

I love how Jesus saw Peter's long-range destiny waaaay before Peter ever acted like a rock. For so long, Peter was grains of sand, shifting impulsively, molded by the situation. Jesus looked past all of that to the vessel that would hold the all-surpassing power of God's glory, and He. Named. It.

He NAMED him!

Y'all... can you grasp this with me?! JESUS NAMES US! He looks past our faults... and He calls us His own. We are His. His own. "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). This isn't just for the nation of Israel; this is for all of those who choose to follow Him. "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." Gentiles, too. People not originally in God's Old Testament covenant: Now the people of God. A holy nation, a chosen people.

Even when we don't acknowledge Jesus, even in our flawed understanding when we don't "get" Him or what He's doing, He still calls us out and Names us: "I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor (Peter is the rock; what an honor!), though you do not acknowledge me" (Isaiah 45:4).

Even when we're wallowing in our imperfections, struggling through our sandy, shifting steps, Jesus, our clear-eyed Master, looks beyond our imperfections and He gives us our perfect Name.