Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him; they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” They kept heaping many other insults on him. When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
- Luke 22:54-69 NRSV
Do You Know Him?
This familiar passage is uncomfortable in Holy Week but it is incredibly jarring in Advent. But this year, it seems just right. In the community of Idabel as we walk through the aftermath of a devastating tornado, it is tempting to ask the wrong questions. Some might say, “Why did God let this happen?” or “Where was God?” Of course, we know that God didn’t let this happen. Storms just are, and this is Oklahoma after all.
But the question, “Where was God?” is another way of saying, “Do you know Him?” For yes, God was and is there. Jesus’ love can be seen in the barbecue restaurant that emptied their freezer to feed hungry people who were without power – in the churches that opened their doors as shelters and central stations for volunteers for construction and roof repair – in the people who came across the state to help with clean up and cutting trees – in the line men who came and lived in campers as power was restored – in the outpouring of love and resources to feed the hungry and help those in need get back on their feet. And – in the city-wide ecumenical prayer and worship service held in the local stadium less than five days after the tornado. A service that declared that yes, we know Him and know that God is good all the time. All the time, God is good.
The CeCe Winans gospel song of 2021 has been in my mind though these days, “Goodness of God.”
And all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God
The Rev. Gloria Walters
Vicar
St. Luke’s Idabel and. St. Mark’s Hugo