Named by a father.

Peter thinks about his Rabbi/Father (Second Adam) [1]...

I am Simon Petros^[2],

or just Petros^[3].

I was born Simon bar Jonas (i.e. Simon son of Jonas),

but renamed^[4] by our new “Rabbi”,

as I thought him to be at the time;

Petros - (i.e. bed-rock-e-fellow).

“Shimon” the Hebrew name that my old dad gave me

means either "He [who] has heard/hears [the word of God]"^[5] or

“He [God] has heard”

though in the common Greek of the Empire,

“Simon” simply means “flat-nosed"^[6]

I s’pose that means a bit of a thug.

That Hebrew name is not bad to aspire to;

but oh, to be  a “bed-rock-e-fellow”!

I hope that will be true.

As we work out who Yeshua really is,

things are even more hopeful.

God, hear me, -

may his naming true be!  

Oh, I heard you

tell us he was^[7] true,

& tell me who I should have heard^[8],

& so I do believe his word.

I will be bold to use his name for me,

faithful to his prophecy^[9],

and know who he is certainly^[10].

Given what you've given me,

what more

could I ever possibly
ask for?

“My proposal, then, is not that we assume that we know what the word ‘god’ means, and manage somehow to fit Jesus into that. Instead, I suggest that we think historically about a young Jew, possessed of a desperately-risky, indeed, apparently crazy, vocation, riding into Jerusalem in tears, denouncing the Temple, ..and dying on a Roman cross, - and that we somehow allow our meaning for the word ‘god’ to be re-centered around that point^[1]”

^[1] The challenge of Jesus N.T. Wright, and also http://ntwrightpage.com/wright_historical_jesus.htm

^[2] 2Pet 1:1

^[3] 1Pet 1:1

^[4] John 1:42

^[5]  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon

^[6]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_%28given_name%29

^[7] 2 Pet 1:16-18

^[8] Mark 9:5-8

^[9] John 1:42; Matthew 16:18; 2Pet 1:8-10,

^[10] Matt 16:15-19

Anothen (Gk:=from-above/again) Wisdom

Master, we’ve worked hard all night, and yet

caught nothing; but if you say so I’ll
on the other side, let down my net.
(But you don’t appear to know our style,
or much about fishing, you’re still wet
behind the ear - in this sphere, & while
you speak confidently, you don’t let
others teach you, from their store or pile
of wisdom they’ve learned, - & won’t forget.)

No slouch,    but ouch,
His grace   is traced..
2 “Grouch”    a stoush
of fish    was dished,
and such    said much
more than   words can.

Lord depart from me,   for I am ae
man who falls short of   for why I’m made
My cat-eg-or-ies   are all undone.
Don’t think I could fol-low -  walk or run.
Hurts to have you stay   & treat me so.
This is a grace, that    I have not known.
Later on, they said   that “good, for bad”
was “coals of fire on head”;   Yes, it’s mad!
I’ll follow till I’m dead,   and be glad!

Some relevant back-ground thoughts/quotes:

• Luke 5:1-9: Simon hung out with Jesus (which is always a two-way thing), then listens to Jesus's words of counsel (even in a sphere of life that Simon may have thought him un-qualified), and acts on them.. the result is astounding, not "normal", unconventional, enough to make him feel unworthy of Jesus' presence. Jesus words/actions convince him (for a time?) that he can trust Jesus to look after his food/family & he can do the job Jesus is calling/sending him to do (which happens to be another step up from fishing for fish).

• Jesus prays [= Hangout with God and Listen to his counsel (HWGALTHC)] before he goes to preach throughout Galilee (instead of staying in & around Capernaum, where he has now set up house.
• Jesus prays (HWGALTHC) before choosing the twelve (including someone who would betray him)
• Jesus prays (HWGALTHC) for hours after feeding the 5k families, when they want to make him king, then trusts God to enable him to get to the other side  of the lake anyway (without a boat, & without walking around)
• Jesus prays (HWGALTHC) before throwing out the unclean spirit in the boy with epilepsy, when his disciples (who had been given authority over ALL unclean spirits) couldn't.
• Jesus prays  (HWGALTHC) in Gethsemane & is enabled to take his human body to a suffering & death that it dreaded (on the way to great JOY), like a mother giving birth.
• Jesus prays (HWGALTHC) and Simon "comes back" or "returns", and can be given the job of strengthening his brothers, &...
• John 21:1-14 "deja vu" Jesus comes to hangout with Simon/Peter & Peter runs to him, does a job for him, dialogues with him, listens to Jesus' questions, tries & fails to answer,  and can be given the job of feeding Jesus' sheep.

All in *a day's work*

Why must I every morning,
and afternoon as well,
have this *job* thrust upon me?
It comes back like a smell.
As I now think about it;
it's not that I feel bad,
I certainly don't doubt it
must be done, or I'm mad!
A bit of quick reaction
is called for here, (with slow).
Don't feel like crucifixion,
but maybe each new blow...?
That calm determination
to do what must be done,
to nail down (no frustration)
- like they did to "the Son"..
"The Son of Humanity",
he fondly called himself;
He, the archetype of me,
would go through this, to Hell.
His followers would doubt it,
they'd say "That's not the way".
He didn't HAVE to do it;
they did, so he would pay!
I needed crucifixion;
he didn't, not a bit.
So Love goes to Jerus'lem,
his hand, my glove, that fits.
---------------------------------------
"Soldier" doing his job well,
"just bang on in that nail"-
quick and clean, no living hell
of playing cat/mouse games.
For in me, it's not the good,
the holy and the true,
that must be nailed down, or should
be buried dead and blue, ...
...but the Judas, anti-christ,
however he got there,
that must be killed, sacrificed (?)
O God it's hardly fair!
Not fair that he who never sinned
would let love so constrain him,
and show up all my blustery wind.
"The Son of Love" I name him!
And, gladly name this undead thing
and to "Gehenna" send it;
unless your spirit blows and brings
life "from above", can't "mend it"!

*And he said to them all, "If you want to come with me you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me." (Luke 9:23; GNB)*

Some relevant background thoughts/quotes:
“you shall love your neighbour, as you love yourself” OT (Lev 19:18)

Maybe Jesus opened that “yourself” up a bit when he said: (luke 9:23) “And he said to them all, “If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me.” And then (John 13:34) “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

• He didn’t quite pamper them. He spoke the truth, he challenged, he was gentle (in some circumstances), he was severe (in others; e.g. “Get behind me Satan” etc), he let them see his feelings...
• Did Jesus also love, say, the Pharisees? or the Teachers of the Law/ Scribes? Was his severe talking to them, simply the way that love had to be expressed in that context to them as leaders (“to whom much has beeen given, much will be required”), in order to wake them up(!) - as with his other comments to Peter?