In my New Testament Class when we had finished reading some bit that showed one of the disciples or other champions of the faith behaving badly, my professor was fond of saying that it was hardly the kind of thing you would cook up if you were inventing a religion.  What he meant by this was that there are so many instances in the Bible where the heroes of our faith come across as petty and fickle and that if you were making up a religion you would not make them so vulnerable and human.  Why would you make up that the rock on which the faith was to be built (Peter) deny even knowing Jesus?  Nor would you have the great evangelist Paul get into an argument with his companion Barnabas and then go on separate mission trips.  These events show weakness not strength. 

But there is another way to look at it.  When we look to characters in the Bible we see us.  We see fickle humans like ourselves.  We have events like James and John pulling Jesus aside and secretly asking him to make them a little higher in the kingdom of heaven.  Humanity is very much on display in the Bible. 

In this Biblical witness, I think that we all see some of ourselves.  We have our good days and our bad days, just like those we see in the Bible.  I, of course would love to look at my life and see that I was ever growing in my love and knowledge of God, but if I am honest I must admit that this is not the case.  Some days things go very well and some days they do not.  And while the overall arc of my Christian life may be headed towards God and his kingdom it probably more resembles a chart for seismic activity rather than a straight line - it goes up and it goes down.

From this Biblical witness I think there are three things to remember.  First, we all fall short of the glory of God.  We will all fail at times, be we St. Peter or simply us.  We are not perfect and we will have times where we are not living up to who it is that God has called us to be.  Second, we must remember that while we know that the failings will come and that we will succumb, we are to live lives in which our spiritual successes will grow and our spiritual failings will diminish.   That should always be the goal.  And finally, we must rejoice in the fact that we worship a God who knows us, who knows what we are like.  God does not people his church with those who are perfect (it would be a pretty small church if he did) but, he populates it with us.  People who sometimes get right and sometimes do not.   

+Fr. Philip