I have spent a lot of time in places where the crow of the rooster is a part of daily life. In fact, next week I will be in Malawi, where roosters serve as an early morning alarm clock. It’s a sound that can’t be ignored. Church tradition has it that for the rest of his life the crow of a rooster brought tears to the eyes of the Apostle Peter. Based on my experience with roosters that would have been a lot of tears! But I can believe that is how Peter felt. He had spent several years with Jesus, seen his miracles, and heard his teaching and yet he turned his back on his Master. The knowledge that he had denied his Messiah must have been devastating. In that moment of pressure, Peter lost his courage.
Like the crow of the rooster, the failure of believers to verbalize their faith in a hostile environment is a regular occurrence. More and more we feel cultural pressure to deny Christ. In most cases we don’t say “I don’t know the man,” but we deny him with our silence. There is growing pressure in our culture to stay anonymous and not offend someone through the very mention of his name. On the other hand, we should avoid sharing our faith in a loud and shrill manner that can be as obnoxious as a rooster. Peter’s life reminds us of the shame of denying Christ and of his abundant grace. In this week, may we live by that grace and learn to acknowledge our faith with authenticity and love.