Luke 22:31-32 (ESV)
[31] “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan
demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, [32] but I have prayed
for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again,
strengthen your brothers.”
The apostles have just been
debating who among them is the greatest when Jesus turns to Peter and tells him
that he will deny Jesus three times. Here is the good news in the passage, “When
you have turned again strengthen your brothers.” Failure does not disqualify us
from ministry. If it did, no one would qualify. This is not to suggest that we
should just forgive and forget without accountability. Jesus did not say, “After
you deny me, strengthen your brothers.” He said, “when you have turned again.”
We are perhaps too quick to turn
a blind eye to sin and offense in the lives of our leaders. Genuine repentance
is a part of the process. There must be a turning again, a restoration. Peter’s
own experience was one if immediately recognizing his failure and grief over
his actions. Too often we try to cover up sin and pretend that it didn’t
happen. That’s not what Jesus is talking about here. Unfortunately, few public
apologies I have heard carry a genuine sense of responsibility on the part of
the offender and a genuine recognition of the pain caused against the offended.
“I’m sorry I messed up, and if I’ve hurt anybody, I’m sorry” is not a real apology.
Like Peter, we need to own our failure.
In doing so there is healing and
future ministry. The future ministry may not look like previous ministry. In Peter’s
case Jesus knows that the other apostles will need to be strengthened to resolutely
continue in their faith. That is the task Jesus gave to Peter. “strengthen your
brothers.” Peter seems to be a natural leader, but when the leader fails and
when Messiah is gone, everything falls apart. Peter’s failure did not
disqualify him from ministry. In fact, it may have made him a better leader,
knowing his own weakness and encouraging his brothers in theirs. Leading may
have come naturally to him, but I’m not sure that nurturing did. Yet that is
exactly what Jesus called him to do.
It was through his own failure
that he learned to nurture. God, by his grace, has a way of doing that. It is
through my own dark times that God has led me and equipped me for my current
ministry. So take heart in the words, “when you have turned again.” Failure is not
the end. We can always turn back to God. Don’t try to hide your failure. Own it
and turn again to God in his grace.
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