After some time, a woman, in the Solicitor General’s service, came outside foe some work. She saw Peter carefully and started shouting at the top of her voice, “For sure, this man was also with Jesus!” Hearing that, Peter’s heart started pounding with full throttle! He felt as if his chest would explode out of fear! His face turned pale white to an extent that if you cut it open, there would be no bleeding! He was sweating badly in that chilly, freezing night! His vocal cord seemed to have been uprooted! Accumulating all his courage, he stammered, “No….no, you must be mistaken! Who are you talking about? Jesus? But, I didn’t even know Him….Honestly speaking, I have no connection with Jesus!!”
Ah! Was the foundation of a disciple’s love, surrender and faith that weak! It was hard to believe that those were the words coming out from Peter’s mouth…..the same Peter, who could spend hours singing the glories of his Guru in front of the whole world! The person who wanted everyone on this earth to love Jesus and chant His name had himself forgotten any least connection with this name…..Peter didn’t know Jesus today!! Peter could not recognize the name of Jesus, whose name was the very identification for him in the world! Had Peter actually forgotten those streets, those gatherings and those spiritual sermons, where he used to accompany the Lord and stand by Him like His right hand! Jesus had taught Peter the art of speaking; in fact, not only speaking, He had taught him the art of announcing the truth to the world, providing the foundation of faith, trust and divine love. But, certainly, he had not taught this art for the day when Peter would announce to the world that he had no links with Him! Verily, if Peter didn’t know Jesus, he knew nothing!! Truly speaking, taunts of the whole world might not have hurt Jesus; but, those reckless words from Peter’s mouth must have shattered His heart into a million pieces!
That woman again inquired from Peter, “Are you not one of the disciples and followers of Jesus?” Panicking with anxiety and terror, Peter again denied any acquaintance with Jesus. Then, another servant said “Definitely you are one of the disciples of Jesus. Your Galilee accent discloses everything. Your language has revealed your identity!!” This was Peter’s third and final chance to support his Master. But unfortunately, he failed! He beseeched that he really didn’t know Jesus. He swore in the name of God that he was not lying! A few hours back, he was so confident that he would never stumble in the services of his Lord. But even before the first ray of the sun could touch the earth, he had denied thrice of any familiarity with the same Lord! It was hard to know who was reliable, the Peter before or the one that could be seen then!
Anyway, Peter forgot his virtues, but nature didn’t budge from its duty! Soon, dawn broke. The voice of the rooster, marking the completion of night, shook Peter’s emotions to the deepest depths. It was as if on behalf of Jesus, that rooster was telling Peter to still wake up! Soon, Jesus was taken out of the Solicitor’s home and He passed right in front of Peter. Frightened Peter looked towards Him. Jesus didn’t need words to communicate anything to His beloved disciple. He spoke through His eyes, “Look Peter, didn’t I tell you that even before morning, you will deny any relationship with me thrice! And so it happened! You have done something that you never wanted to do! Why? Why didn’t you understand that the fruits of discipleship blossom not in the silver vase, but in the blood-red grounds of sacrifices and offerings! But sadly, the love of has forced you to die a death of shame, embarrassment and dishonor every passing minute! Instead of bowing before your Master, you chose to stoop in front of the cruel, wicked world! They will not lift your bowed head; they will rather trample it ruthlessly under their feet like the hood of a snake! If you had chosen to surrender at my feet, I would have crowned you like a king!”
Soldiers were taking Jesus to Pilate’s court for the legal trial in front of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. Peter just kept staring and Jesus vanished from his sight. His eyes had forgotten to blink. He had become a statue! But suddenly something happened! Peter screamed! It seemed as if every vein in his body was exploding with the effect of some invisible poison! Peter was behaving like a newly wedded bride, who had become a widow even before the wedding ceremony could be complete! He was then left with nothing in this world! His life became desolate and deserted like a treeless mountain! Waste to an extent that even a cactus refused to breathe in the land of his heart! There was total destruction from head to toe, from earth to the limits of the sky, from a dry village well till a bed of ocean!!
Peter had become hollow from inside just like a bamboo stick! He was fatigued emotionally. At one moment he was crying madly, and at the other moment, he was dumb as dead! But, those tears were not strong enough to wipe out the black stains of denial and falsification, which had tainted his character forever!! Peter embraced the trees around him and confessed, “I am a coward! Unfortunate and useless I am!! You strongly faced the scorching sunlight, the destructive rains and whirlpool winds that came in your way and didn’t get uprooted! But I did! I compromised with my roots, the very foundation of my existence!! What do i do now? Help me……somebody show me the way! Please help!” ……to be continued
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