John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Sunday School Lessons

Today in Sunday School we discussed discipleship and how hard it must have been to follow Jesus’ call.

I was assigned to read the verse about Peter denying Jesus three times and asked what would I have done in his shoes, if called by Jesus to drop everything (family, friends, business) to follow Jesus.

Tough spot to be in.

It’s church so, on the one hand, the pressure is on to give the Christian and obvious answer.

On the other hand, it’s church so you better be truthful.

And what if the two conflict?

My answer was that I would have said, “Yes, sign me up! I’m on board….all the way!”

And then later in the day, when no one was looking, I would slip off.

People (including other disciples would wonder, “Where the heck did John go? He was here earlier.” I’d stay gone long enough for the group to move to the next town.

And I’d show up where I left the group the next day. I’d blame Peter for giving me the wrong date and time to meet (pointing out that Peter’s seemed a little off the beam lately with all the denial stuff and I’ve been worried about him and praying for him).

I’d further blame the rest of them for leaving without me. I’d remind everyone I was one of the first to sign on and cite my enthusiasm at the time…..and disappointment for being left behind.

If you hadn’t figured out by now, I went with the “honest” answer over the “most Christian sounding” answer.

I did add –and this was my “save,” sort of. I would quietly monitor the group for several weeks. If after that time it looked like they were completely legit, I’d make a surprise appearance, act like I’d been trying to catch up with them for several weeks and become a loyal disciple once and for all.