SUNDAY READING.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 144430, 18 July 1914, Page 6

SUNDAY READING.

Notes of a sermon preached by the REV. A. B. CHAPPELL -ALA., in the AVhitoley Meiurnal Church.

PICTER : A STUDY IN IMPULSE

Text: “Jesus looked upon him, and said, Thou art Simon the son ol John: thou sit alt ho called Cephas (which is by interpretation Peter—a rock}.’’

A study of “the twelve” inevitably begins with Peter. Not (hut ho was the first called to service in the company of onr Lord, nor that ho received any special appointment as leader of the rest; hut because by reason of natural qualities he forces hitnsell upon our notice. He was boru for leadership, and no lack in education or in special ordination could have kept mm from it. In all the lists of the apostles his name is first, no matter how the order of tho others may vary. Where he and the two sons of /tebedee are found sharing the most critical moments ol our Lord’s ministry, as in the transfiguration on the mount or tlio agony in the garden, Peter is .named first. He is usually spokesman for tlic rest in question and protest arid confession. \.ho asks about the tribute money ? It is Peter, AVho wants to know tho meaning of the parables? H is Peter. Who presses for a limit to tho exercise m forgiveness? It is Peter. A\ ho wants a promise of reward for sacrifice involved in following Christ ? It is Peter. AVho makes the grand confession, and the most vigorous remonstrance with Christ ax Ho commits' Himself to tho plots ol His roes ? It- is Peter. "Who loads the despondent and boroavea diseiplos in their return to their occupation after the tragedy of Calvary, and (in stranga contrast) in testimony at i , ontcco£t: J It is this solf-samc Peter. He made no early claim to leadership. though soon jealousies wero aroused on the part ol some others of tho groun. Tacitly he was acknowledged, eventually as tho strongest man in the company, winning precedence by merit, not by ordination. UK WAS NOT THIS any more than ho was the first-called, ei the apostles of Christ; hut ho was by far t.iio most .striking figure. \\g know him best. V> c see him at his formal introduction to Christ; we hear the welcome and the prophecy. Thence onward to tho Master .-: end we easily trace him; on again, after his denial, through die striking re-admission to the work of a shepherd of the flock, to Pentecost's brave witness; on still, through sermon and deed and suffering, in tho apostolic age, until his figure is eclipsed by that of the great “Apostle of i.ho Gentiles.” Tbe facts of bis life are well known. Beginning Rio at Bethsaida, on the west of Galileo s groat lake, the sou of Jonas or John, ho was probably left, with his vomiger brother Andrew, an orphan when quite young. Ho pastes beneath the guardianship of Zcbedoc, and is engaged in fisher’s work. Ho marries—ho is the only apostle of whom this is expressly stated—and settles at Capernaum. to the north of his birthplace. He becomes a disciple of John the Baptist, and is led to expect the Messiah's early appearing. Ho is brought by Andrew into tho presence of Christ, ami later leaves his occupation to join tho journeyings of tho group. Ho speedily rises to nromiucnce. He does not hesitate to rebuke the Master whom ho so vehemently serves. Ho protests unswerving loyalty, and utters the best thoughts of the group. So does ho Hurt out tho least lovely of those thoughts. Ho share.': the most solemn experiences of tho Alastor. He lifts a sword in the garden of betrayal; he follows afar off "to tho judgment hall; ho denies with hitter curses, at the twitting of a servant-girl, all knowledge of tiitTcaptivo Christ._ Bitterly repentant, ho becomes forgiven and recommissioned. and preaches boldly at Pentecost. Ho endures imprisonment, and spends his strength in the proclamation of tho evangel. He takes sides in tho controversy about the expansion of Christ’s influence among tho Gentiles. Ho is busy, vigorous, to the close of tho authentic record of his career. Not only do wo know him the best of the twelve; AVE LIKE HIM THE BEST. Others surpass him in traits that make them admirable; but Peter is'so positively human that ho draws us to him. His'very weaknesses are sources of attraction. It comforts ns (knowing our own failings) to think that this imperfect mortal—such a. mingling of iron and clay, of lire and water—was welcomed and made great by the Saviour. ■ Ho presents a wonderful study in impulse. His life U FULL OF DRAMATIC SURPRISES. At times he seems inspired, uplifted above ordinary limitations; again, ho almost forfeits his place_ as a disciple, let alone an apostle. Now ho is confessing Jesus to ho tho Christ, tho Sou of God; later, he is arrogantly expostulating -.villi his Aluster. He hears, .entranced. “Blessed are thou, Simon Barjona” and shortly afterwards he is astounded at being addressed iu tho very words earlier used to the tempter —“Get thou behind Ale, Satan.” At one time he is found professing unimpeachable loyalty : though all others forsake his Lord ho will remain unshaken ; aud ho smites with a sword one of the assailing crowd ; at another time, hard upon the first, lie is seen slinking behind Christ to a nlaco among the servants at the palace and repeatedly disowning Him. AVhat is tho matter with Peter? His * heart is in the right place. Hb could, unchallenged, exclaim even after his base denial, “Lord, Thou knowest all things;' Thou knowest that I love Thee!” It was gloriously true. And his courage is ns vigorous as his lovo is warm. Alalclius found that out, to his coat, as, later, did those who heard his homing words to thronging crowd and hostile ruler. Ho lias a sensitive conscience, and is reproved.and melted with a look. Ho has quick insight, acknowledging the power and holiness of tho Alaster while others are stunned into silence by puzzling thought. AA 7 hat is the matter;? He is THE TYPICAL ALAN OF FEELING. He was, therefore, excitable and all too rcsjronsivo to immediate happen-, lugs. For instance, tho announcement of the Alaster’s coming sufferings fills him with indignation, and the pain in his heart stings him into unwise speech. See, too, how insult offered to that Master makes him boil over with anger. His emotions carried him away, out of his-safe depth, on their strong undertow. As Alexander AVliyte says of him, “His hot heart was always in his' mouth.” He was the Irishman among tho apostles. He was an engine withf out a fly-wheel, a locoiribtivo without a: governor. ’There was no compensating, balancing' medianisin in the machinery of his constitution. When waters were calm he ploughed ahead grandly; when

n storm arose lie made rough weather of it-at once—the screw raced, threatening to shako him to mooes; sometimes the shaft broke and tie lay a. helpless derelict at the mercy of the waves, wallowing in the trough of the sea of circumstance. He could bo brave ns a lion; hut he could he a terrible coward. In this queer blend he was by no means alone, Frederick the Great ran away from his first battle. Elijah and John tlic Baptist arc our Old and New Testament iicrocs of courage; yet one got the bines in' the desert and the other was hopelessly pessimistic in gaol. So Peter could flare to walk on tile water, and snatch a sword against a band of soldiers; hut the courage would ooze away and self-confidence would be succeeded- by fearful shame. The EMOTION-FED LIFE GOES TO EXTREMES.

See the oscillations in Peter’s case. Watch him at that pathetically tender ceremonial of the feet-waslring. Others yield to the Alaster’s service in silence. "•■Then commit He .to Simon Peter.’’ and Peter explodes in protest—“ Lord, dost Then wash my feet !” Ills bhirtM i. „m on this occasion is like the illniiTtnred suggestion with which he broke the hallowed silence of the mount of transfiguration. Christ patiently explains to him the need for Ids submitting to the menial .service. Away to the opposite extreme Peter's vehemence rushes: “Lord, not my feet only ; but also my hands and my head I” This involves another explanation; and with difficulty his poise is restored. The oscillation of the denial is another case in point. The garden alarm; the sword's Hashing stroke; Christ's rebuke; and then Peter, smarting and puzzled, follows disconsolate at a dislance. He abjectly seeks comfort at the common tire. 'Taunted, he denies; pressed, with a challenge, he curses (probably in unconscious memory of quarrels with his youthful self-chosen companions). The Master passes from the judgment hall. an<l,those penetrating eyes meet Peter’s. Remorse, deep and keen, immediately seizes him.

SOME DISCIPLINE AA’AS NEEDED to give him balance. His self-induced sufferings brought that discipline. There is always hone for tho emotional, and it comes along tlic avenue of the impulsive deed : tim remedy is produced by tho wrongdoing. Out from the denial’s self-understanding comes a now Peter, less confident of himself and more ready for a trustful dependence upon a spiritual equipping. Pentecost’s experience made nim the “rock” of Christ’s prophetic forecast. Yet, ctcn afterwards, impulse occasionally had him at its mercy. His Jewish prejudices were allayed by tho vision of the sheet with its burden of unclean beasts and of the voice—“ Arise, kill and eat.” The Gentiles, he realised, should come to the Light. So, taken to task in Jerusalem for consorting, with Gentiles, he narrated tho vision’s experience, boldly holding his ground. But afterwards, at Antioch, he was weak enough, in the face of Jewish criticism, to withdraw himself from the Gentiles, and drew upon him the well-deserved rebuke of Paul. But the case seems an isolated one; discipline had well-nigh done its work. The lesson of it all is that of tho PERILS AND POSSIBILITIES OF THE EMOTIONAL LIFE. Tile perils are many and terrible. Our quick speech and impulsive deed may make sad ■ trouble—trouble for others to undo and Christ to grieve over. AVo must pray for wisdom, tact, and steadfastness; that our shifting sand may settle into a rock on which God can build.

The possibilities of the emotional temperament aro equally and correspondingly wonderful. AVe may well be grateful for tho men of impulse. To be wrong-headed seems not so. bad as to be cold-hearted. In the- Church and in tho world wo can do with more Peters. Who would not rather be impulsive Peter than cold, calculating Judas—uniformly mentioned last in the list of tho anosclcs ? AVifh Alexander AVliyte, “let us take Peter, come to perfection, for our pattern and our prelate; and, especially, let us watch, and work, and pray against a cold heart, a chilling temper, a distant, selfish, indifferent mind.”