Rooster

Read: Luke 22:31-34; 54-62

Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly (Luke 22:59-62, NRSV).

I’m not one to brag, but… Wait, what am I saying? I’m a rooster. It’s my job to brag. The first thing I do in the morning is to wake up to the happy reality of my own magnificence. Then I wake everyone else up to tell them about my magnificence. What? It’s not arrogance; it’s just the truth. Is it my fault if people don’t always appreciate the obvious?

Oddly, however, people do not always respond well to my morning announcements. The hens roll their eyes and go back to sleep. Sometimes the high priest throws his shoes at me. The other day the kitchen maid threatened to put me in a stew.

But this brings me to the story I’d like to share. In all my years of crowing at the crack of dawn, I’ve never seen anyone react the way that poor Galilean fisherman reacted. The look on his face when I crowed was, well—you’d have thought I had just announced that he was going to be put in a stew. But let’s back up so I can tell the story properly.

The first thing that was unusual about that morning was that I was the last one to wake up. I remember hearing voices in the courtyard, and when I brought my head out from under my wing, it was getting light. “Oh, no!” I thought. “I’ve overslept!” So, I blurted out an especially ambitious crow to make up for being late.

It was only then that I realized it wasn’t even morning yet. The light in the courtyard was firelight. Several people were milling around. Some of them seemed to be ganging up on that Galilean fisherman I mentioned. Another man—he looked to be some sort of prisoner—was standing in the firelight looking at the fisherman. I’ll never forget that look. Everyone else in that courtyard was glaring at the fisherman. But the prisoner’s look was full of love.

Was it the sound of my voice or that look of love that made the universe collapse for that poor fisherman? I guess I’ll never know. Part of me want to take “credit,” but I’m not sure I want that much power. Even a rooster’s ego has some limits, after all.

Ponder: The Bible does not describe the expression on Jesus’ face when he looked at Peter. What do you think is expression was? If you were Peter, would it be harder for you to see anger, disappointment, or love in Jesus’ face?

Pray: Nothing about our betrayals surprises you, gracious Lord, and yet you love us. Thank you.