Question: Elder, you mentioned Peter’s imperfection before Pentecost. Was this the reason for denying our Lord?
Answer: According to our holy Fathers, Peter denied our Lord because it was God’s concessionary Will to do so ( κατ’ οικονομία θέλημα). It was not like Peter who was with our Jesus the whole time and had shown such zeal and such humility, to deny our Lord three times. This is not reasonable. Remember Peter’s declaration? When Jesus asked them: ‘Who do you think I am?’ Peter declared: ‘You are Christ, the Son of the Living God’. Our Jesus turned to him and said: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16, 17). Peter was by nature very zealous and uncompromising. After his declaration, the Lord in His All-Wisdom made him the foundation of the Church.
However, since the Church was going to encompass the entire human nature, not just the zealous and the strong-willed, but also the weak and the ailing, the Lord permitted this triple denial to take place. There is not even one person in five who will be so strong that he will love the Lord totally and show such self- denial because of the fervor of his love. Therefore the Lord has made a concession for the rest of us who are weak. However, Peter, who was zealous and strong and had no sense of concession in him, would not have understood the weak. Therefore the Lord makes a concession and permits Peter to deny Him. Then, He Himself heals him. He approaches him and says: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”(John 21, 15), ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me? (John 21, 16) Peter was grieved because he did not understand Him. Nevertheless, the three questions meant to heal the triple denial. By his triple confession, Peter had eradicated his quilt. He also learnt through experience that even zealous people were in need of clemency.
The Lord does the same thing to Paul. Because Paul was to become the backbone of the Church, He let him become a persecutor and an enemy at first; afterwards He caught him. And Paul, in true humility says: ‘I am not worthy to be called an Apostle since I have persecuted the Church of Christ’. However, I do have an excuse, ‘I have done it out of ignorance’.
Did you see how the Lord’s wisdom acts in order to console us as well? Had these leaders entered the Church with the force of their initial zeal, how would they have known that we, the weaklings, could not bear it? Divine Mercy condescends in the face of human weakness, so that we may reach Divinity. The Lord comes down to us, so that we may rise.
Question: Elder, sometimes when we get tired from our assignments we may squabble amongst ourselves. What are we to do in this case?
Answer: When you are tired you must be more careful. The love you have for one another must always come before anything else. Nevertheless, if some disagreement arises, you must try to convince your brother in the spirit of genuine and not pretentious love that you have inadvertently made a mistake. ‘Forgive me, my brother, I lost my temper’. When there is solidarity amongst you and you pray for each other and generally speaking you are cultivating unity and love this will make Satan powerless, because you will create a very strong bond.
There are many examples from the lives of our Holy Fathers which show that those who have been struggling with the grace of love for the sake of others became the reason for their release from their weaknesses. Let me remind you the example of the brother who faced a fierce struggle of the flesh and could not take it. He was living with his spiritual brother and one day he told him: ‘Forgive me my brother; I cannot remain here any more. I have tried as much as I could but I cannot do it any more. I am going outside to the world to get married’. His co ascetic tried to dissuade him to no avail. When the time came for him to leave, he told him: ‘I will join you. Since we have lived so long together as spiritual brothers, I do not think that it is wise to let you leave you alone now’.
-‘Are you crazy? I am going to find a woman to commit a sin with and you want to join me?’
-‘I will not sin with you, but I will come with you. I will not leave you alone’.
Indeed he followed him and when they reached the place of sin, his brother went inside to satisfy his desire. The other monk remained outside and was praying to the Lord. ‘Lord, even though it is the last hour, You are the only one who can still help him’. Indeed, when the monk went inside, he changed his mind. The Lord had stopped the onslaught of the temptation and he came to himself and said: ‘What am I doing? All these years in the desert I never had enough bread or water and now for a brief moment of pleasure I am about to forsake my Lord, taint myself, abandon all those efforts and join the devil in Hell!’ And he turned back. He did not commit a sin. He went outside to find his brother and said: ‘I have changed my mind. I will not sell short my salvation for such a trivial thing’.
They returned to their dwelling. One of the Elders revealed to them that the Lord stopped the temptation for the sake of his brother’s effort. See what happens? When there is love between you, it becomes a safety net for your rescue. The love we have for other people protects, shields, and covers whoever is away and whoever is weak. Thus the enemy can not realize his evil schemes. Love is such a significant issue. Indeed it ‘never gives up’.
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