Gospel
John 1:35-42
35 The next day again John stood, and two of his disciples.
36 And beholding Jesus walking, he saith: Behold the Lamb of God. 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turning, and seeing them following him, saith to them: What seek you? Who said to him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He saith to them: Come and see. They came, and saw where he abode, and they stayed with him that day: now it was about the tenth hour. 40 And Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who had heard of John, and followed him.
41 He findeth first his brother Simon, and saith to him: We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looking upon him, said: Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter.
In today’s Gospel we read that, not only did Saint John the Baptist recognize Jesus as the Messiah, but that he told two of his disciples and they immediately believed. Perhaps these were John the Baptist’s most devout followers. We do not know, but later we will read that several other disciples of the Baptist came to Jesus and asked if He was the Messiah. They did this at the request of their master while he was in prison. We must wonder if his faith had begun to waiver, of it he did this expressly to prove to his followers that Jesus was the one so long awaited. Soon, he would be beheaded and presumably many of his disciples became followers of Christ.
It is a shame that both of Saint John the Baptist's disciples are not named. There has been much speculation about who the other one may have been. But, Saint John the Evangelist tells us that one was Andrew. Saint John learned much from the Blessed Virgin Mary and it is no coincidence that he gives us this story, that the other Apostles would not have witnessed. Two points in this passage are striking.
The first is the obedience of Saint Andrew. The Baptist told him that Jesus was the “Lamb of God”, a name for the Messiah rooted in Old Testament prophecy, and he both immediately accepted it as truth and followed our Lord. Saint Andrew displays perfect meekness in his obedience. He did not question. Later when the Roman centurion asks our Lord to heal his daughter, he expresses similar faith. He explains that as he has authority over men, they obey his orders. He believes that Jesus, as God, has authority over sickness and death and if Jesus commands it, His word will make it so. Our Lord explained that few of the Jews, and even His own Apostles, held such strong faith in Him. Yet, Saint Andrew did.
The second is that the changing of Saint Peter’s name and his first encounter with our Lord differs in Saint John’s Gospel. Here, we read that Saint Andrew told his brother, Simon, and he immediately believed that Jesus was the Messiah, as well. Jesus seemingly immediately changes his name to Cephas, which means “rock” in the Aramaic language that Jesus and His disciples spoke, in their first meeting. The Greek word for rock is “petra”, and was written in a masculine name form in the Gospels, which were mostly written in Greek as it was the most widely spoken language in the region at the time. Saint Jerome would retain the Greek version when he translated the Bible to Latin, and so we now know that rock upon which Jesus founded his Church as Saint Peter. But in this Gospel, the Aramaic was left intact. The use of the name Cephas here, shows the intimate familiarity that Saint John had with the story of the life of Jesus and His ministry.
We do not know whether this instance, when Jesus named Saint Peter, is the same as told in the other Gospels but given in a more abbreviated form. We know that Saint Peter lacked constancy. He would make bold statements and then falter, such as when he vehemently denied he would ever deny our Lord, and then denied Him three times after His arrest. Eventually, Saint Peter would become the Rock, finding the courage and constancy he naturally lacked through the supernatural power of God. He would bravely die a martyr’s death, preaching to pagan Rome as he died, crucified upside down because he declared himself unworthy to die as did our Lord. The altar of Basilica of Saint Peter, the very heart of Christianity, would be built over his tomb and he would both literally and figuratively become the rock on which Jesus built His Church. Perhaps, Jesus did say that Simon would be called Peter in their first meeting. Perhaps, as was his nature, Saint Peter charged in, full of zeal and faith that Jesus was the Messiah, only to begin to sink in the waters of events later as he did when he went to meet our Lord walking on the water.
In many ways, Saint Peter is a model for all of us. We rush in full of elated faith when we first believe. We are new men and women in Christ after receiving Baptism and Confirmation. Our First Communion is celebrated. Usually, it doesn’t take long before we start falling back into old habits of sin and spiritual laziness though. Perhaps that is what happened to the unnamed disciple of Saint John the Baptist. I hope not. Regardless, the good news is that through the Catholic Church, our Lord gives us the means to seek forgiveness and reconciliation no matter how often we fail. Remember, in the sacraments it is not the priest whose power is at work, it is Jesus through the priest. The priest stands in “persona Christi”, in the person of Christ. The hands of the priest become the hands of Jesus, who lifts us up as we begin to sink if we only call out and ask.
It is important that we not mistake that first rush of spiritual excitement when we come to believe in Jesus Christ. Yes, it is a wonderful time. But, a life of faith is a long journey with so many ups and downs. We will experience much suffering and spiritual darkness. Jesus promised that Christians would suffer. No one who has true faith and honestly examined conscience can stay cheerful, spiritually elated all the time. Even the apostles who saw the true divinity of Christ on Mount Tabor had to come down the mountain… to work, to suffer and to die. While the joy of Christ gives us hope and prevents us from despair, never trust anyone who says that Christians should be be cheerful all of the time and should never suffer. Those who claim such are usually either members of some sort of religious cult or are covering up for something… perhaps addiction or abuse. Anyone who denies Christian suffering rejects the teachings of Jesus, and no matter what denomination they claim to be, they cannot be truly Christian. If Jesus is God, He cannot lie.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January-June, 2024. It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPD1DC7Q
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Pentecost is the defining moment in Christianity. Prior to Pentecost, even Jesus’ closest disciples hadn’t received the power of the Holy Spirit that sustains faith. This is why Peter lacked constancy, and would make bold statements: and then falter.