Easter 03: Peter Restored

One of Tim’s slides read, “we get to re-narrate our own stories & decide what meaning they will have for us.         We can’t change the events of our past; we can change their meaning.”  How does this idea strike you? Does it intuitively make sense? Does it challenge any ideas you may hold about the meaning of events in our stories? Or about the nature of our stories themselves? When you think generally about a person’s past traumas, experiences of disorientation, or failures, what are some of the other ways in which you’ve seen people respond to difficult experiences? What do you think of “rewriting its meaning” as one of the options? What makes it an appealing option? What makes it less appealing?

Reflecting on the ways in which Peter may have felt disqualified or defeated by his denials of Jesus, Tim taught that Jesus’ response to Peter demonstrated that God’s covenants and kingdom are those of grace, love, and reconciliation. In effect, Jesus’ demonstration of love and grace helped to re-narrate Peter’s failure as a natural part of Peter’s discipleship process, rather than a transgression for which Peter must offer restitution.  Spend a little time thinking about this, and as you do, reflect on times in which you might feel like you’ve failed in significant ways - or maybe even failed God. There’s no pressure to share your own story, but in light of your experiences, what might you imagine that Peter could be feeling as he sees this grace-filled restoration offered to him, with no condemnation or  remonstrance?  To what degree do you think it might have been difficult for Peter to fully accept this second chance? What might have given him cause for resistance?  Do you feel resistant to the idea of unrestrained and limitless second chances being extended to you? Is that more true in concrete examples or in abstraction? What are the factors that you suspect could lead to any resistance felt in yourself, in Peter, or in someone else?

As Tim shared, Redemption Church hopes to be a community in which we help each another to re-narrate the stories of our lives, and to assign them meaning within the story of God, aligned with God’s kingdom of love, forgiveness, and  reconciliation.   Have you had experiences of this in your time at RC, in big or small ways? Have you witnessed it in others?  How do you think it works in the practical realities of community and relationships at church? What does it look like to be a part of this process in regards to the narration of your own stories? What does it look like to be a part of this process in the stories of others in our church? How does it feel to be a part of this work in the lives of others? To have others be a part of this transformation in your life?