Something we routinely look for in the people around us is reliability. We want to be able to count on the people we work with, the people we trust with our love, the people we trust with our business--well, almost everyone whom we encounter, really--we want people to be dependable.

It works even within the faith, as the stories of Jesus and his followers attest. More than once, Jesus tests the dependability of those who follow him. There is the Commissioning of the Seventy when Jesus sent them out to preach the gospel, but also as a test--do they have what it takes to follow through with the work of ministry? There are times when the Twelve are given tasks to perform that seem to carry the undercurrent of Jesus observing whether or not the Disciples are up to the task. One such moment comes as Jesus outlines his own destiny in the Cross and Resurrection. It is a test--will the Disciples comprehend Jesus’ radical reworking of the work of the expected Messiah? Will they stay with him when they see the darkness at the end of the road? Will they see things through? Sadly, Peter fails miserably. He simply does not see the cost of redemption.

Oh, well…

Taking Christ as Christ comes is never easy. If we are honest, we all know that we tweak the gospel from its bald proclamation in the New Testament, keeping what we like (angels, shepherds, love, grace, glory, hope) and discarding what we find uncomfortable (selling all of our worldly goods, dwelling among outcasts, loving our enemies, sacrificing our desires). We may not be as direct as Peter in his disavowal of Christ’s promised result, but we say the same thing every time we fiddle with what the gospel says.

We find it hard to be dependable servants of God, namely because we don’t like that status of being followers rather than leaders. Another class of newly elected officers has begun to gather for weekly training sessions here at Covenant. One of the first lessons is to read what exactly the Bible says about being an Elder or a Deacon. We all kind of smiled as we read Paul’s definition of an Elder in 1 Timothy--the women in particular wondered about how they would live up to Paul’s standard of being married to only one woman! All of us struggled with Paul’s adamant emphasis that those who serve within the leadership of the church be holy in and of themselves. It got no better with the definition of a Deacon found in Acts--holy service rendered self-sacrificially to meet the needs of the world. How does one do that? We quietly feared that Christ’s dismissal of Peter would soon echo in our own ears.

Does it help to hear Paul’s reasoning behind his list of attributes for servants in the Church? “I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child,…so that by following them you may fight the good fight…” I wonder. Paul is trying to shore up our ability to be good and faithful servants, but…

Imagine being Elisha for a moment. Elisha was a disciple and student of Elijah, one the of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament, a prophet so connected to God that he did not die, but ascended directly into heaven. That’s holiness! Imagine being Elisha and charged with following in those footsteps. Elijah seems to know how hard it will be, for as his time is running short, he again and again tries to dissuade Elisha from following him. Leave me alone, let me go on my own way--BY MYSELF! We only read the first time this dialog occurred, but it gets repeated several times before Elijah departs for good. Elisha will not leave Elijah’s side. He remains steadfast and stalwart, a second shadow for the great man. He is a paragon of dependable faithfulness. What gave him the ability to see things through?

There is a hint in Paul’s words to Timothy. It does not come, however, where one might expect it. It comes in a very brief phrase, almost hidden in the text. It comes through Paul’s address of Timothy as “my child.” In these little words, Paul grounds all that he says to Timothy, the heavy instruction and the high standard he sets before the young man. He tells Timothy that he loves him.

Perhaps strangely at first glance, but this idea ties Elijah and Elisha to Paul and Timothy. What motivates Elisha’s dependability? The same thing that fires Paul’s instruction of Timothy--love. In both cases, love provides the foundation from which a disciple will follow his master. Elisha sticks to Elijah because Elisha loves the old man. He will not forsake him. He could not even imagine leaving him. Others who know the situation confront Elisha--don’t you know your time together is short? Well, of course, Elisha seems to reply, why else am I still here? Now be quiet and stop asking such silly questions (vs. 3). Likewise, Paul instructs Timothy in how to choose leaders because, first and most importantly, Paul loves Timothy and wants nothing but his success. Almost any parent in the room today who has ever sent a child out on their own knows Paul’s love for Timothy. A child leaving for college can be driven near insanity by all those last minute instructions and counsels that mom or dad just has to get in before stepping away from the dorm. But it comes from love, it comes from a longing to see a child succeed.

And this is why Christ is so harsh with Peter--Peter dangerously invites disaster into his work. Because Christ loves Peter, he sternly rebukes him. Here, love comes in a “no” to bad thinking before such thinking can turn into bad work. To be with Christ means accepting Christ on Christ’s own terms, not our own, not anyone’s except those of Christ. The rebuke is strong because the stakes are so high. To fail to see the totality of Christ’s work, and the end result of that work--death and resurrection--one tempts fate. One risks falling away from the fold of God. Christ sharply turns on Peter to bring him back from the brink. Again, it is like someone watching a child ride a bicycle near the road. If the child strays too near the path of traffic, the rebuke will be strong and firm, not in abject anger, but because the child is too precious to risk to cars racing past. It is an expression of love.

That love is what will see us through our attempt to live by the gospel in our lives. It will become manifest in expressions like those of Paul for Timothy, like those of Elisha for Elijah, and like those of Christ for Peter. Love will instruct us in the way to be and the way we are to live among other people. Love will bind us to other people so that we will not abandon people we are to help or turn from those whom we love. Love will correct us as we make our way. Love will offer a standard by which to test our responses and actions within the world.

In all of these ways, love will give us the strength and the ability to see our way through the life of faith. It will give us the opportunity to make our way along life’s road with the hope of hearing Christ’s wonderful benediction--well done, good and faithful servant.

That is wondrous love, indeed.