NOTES for Mar 14:26-42

How often something said “in general” is received better than something addressed to us personally. The prophecy of the coming betrayal stirred a lively response in the disciples and moved them to look once more within themselves. But Peter rejected the unflattering warning addressed to him personally. A proud resentment can be heard in his objections: that cannot possibly happen, for I am such a good person!

And immediately afterward Peter dozed off, leaving Christ alone with the God-forsakenness of Gethsemane. When the Savior comes to him for a moment, He calls him not Peter but Simon. At that moment Simon son of Jonah is already—but also not yet—a rock of stone...

Those who asked themselves, “Is it I?” scattered, but they had not promised that they would never falter under any circumstances. They showed weakness, but they did not betray or deny Him.

How often we find it unbearable to hear a bitter reproach from those around us and immediately want to dispute unpleasant accusations. But unless we accept the unbearable truth about ourselves, we are unlikely to rid ourselves of our own rubbish.