I've always liked Peter. In a lot of ways, he has always reminded me of my next younger brother, Mark. Mark was a biker. His friends called him, "Animal," which tells you something about his character. Most of the time, he was about as gentle a person as you could ever hope to meet. He wouldn't hurt anyone, even to protect himself. But if you messed with anyone he cared about, you were in trouble. I remember when some guys from the Pagan motorcycle club, which was composed mostly of people with criminal records, tried to force his friend's girlfriend down into the basement of the shop where she worked, to rape her. Mark was nearby, and took on a couple of them. They had knives. He took off his belt and wrapped it around his wrist, and got an old bike chain he had hanging on his motorcycle. After it was over, he called me to pick him up at the emergency room of the local hospital, where he had gone to get a couple of stitches for knife wounds. The two Pagans he went after were in the hospital for a couple of weeks. He was ferociously loyal to his friends, and wore his heart on his sleeve.

Peter was a lot like that. His heart was in the right place, but he often acted before thinking. In the rough-and-tumble world of fishermen in that area, he was known for his hearty laugh and quick temper, but not always for his good judgment. He was the oldest of the disciples Jesus called, the only one we have a record of being married, probably in his twenties when his brother, Andrew, brought him to the Master. Not yet old enough to have mellowed, but with a young wife to care for, still he left everything to follow the rabbi.

We hear of many stories in the scriptures that include Peter, one of the inner circle of Jesus' disciples. Peter was the kind of guy who would rather act first on impulse, then ask questions later, and so, more often than not, acted unwisely. He was easy to love, but exasperating. Sometimes I think the reason Jesus made him part of his "inner circle" was so that he could keep a closer eye on him, so he wouldn't get in trouble. I had a kid like that in my first church. Any time our youth group went anywhere, I was always his partner, so that I could keep him on a "sort leash." He was a good kid with a good heart, but just never thought before he acted, and had a habit of getting into trouble - he could do it even when I was right there with him! When we took the kids to the San Antonio Gathering, we went to a ranch to ride horses - and he got lost. It took us two and-a-half hours and half a dozen hands to find him. Then, in the Mexican Market, he accidentally dumped hot sauce all over his food. He had never had hot sauce before, and decided to eat it anyway. We took a picture of him with over a dozen cokes he drank to try to cut the heat. He spent most of the rest of the Gathering in the bathroom.

That's what we meet in Peter. He's not the kind of guy you'd want on the Church Council, or anywhere where you need cool, reasoned thought. He's got a lot of rough edges, even if he is lovable and loyal to his friends. He blunders through life like a bull in a china shop, so he doesn't make easy company in the church. One moment, Jesus praises him for his insight and faith; in the next, he chides him for his unwillingness to listen and to follow him. One moment, he is willing to die for Jesus; in the next, he denies even knowing him.

Peter is the gas station attendant whose language burns our ears, but is the first one to show up when a neighbor is in need. He's the waitress whose ideas on race relations make you cringe, but when the black single mother down the street ends up in the hospital, she's the one who steps in, gets her kids up and fed and off to school, takes off work early to pick them up, and gets them fed and to bed at night. My brother had all kinds of crazy ideas about all kinds of things, and did a lot of things that made us cringe. The thing he was most proud of, however, was a picture of him with the mayor of Pasadena, California, after he organized and led a Toys for Tots campaign that filled Pasadena stadium with toys.

What do we do with people like this in the church? Does the church have a place for them, or is it only for the nice, those who are easy to get along with, those who have it together theologically and morally?

That brings us right to the heart of what it means to be the church. We talked about that a bit last week - that the church is not a society of the theologically or ethically-correct, but a family created by Christ, composed of all who are called by him. It is, in fact, exactly for those folks like Peter - and maybe some of us as well - who have trouble finding a home in this world, who often blunder through life, making a lot of mistakes along the way, those of us who leave a trail of carnage in our wake, but who, never-the-less, have responded to the call to "come and follow."

It is most amazing, I think, that the catholic tradition has looked to Peter as the model of faith, the "rock" on which the church is built. This man who was uneducated, vacillating, who lived more by his emotions than by his head. The one thing he had going for him was an unwavering love for his Lord and an unswerving desire to serve him.

God needs people like Peter. It's said that the opposite of love is not hate, but apathy. Peter was never apathetic. Even if he was dead wrong, which he often was, it could never be said that he was apathetic. His heart, mid and spirit were all offered fully to God. God can use people like that. They make the rest of us crazy, but they give God the kind of raw material he needs to bring in his kingdom.

Don't ever be afraid of making mistakes. Don't be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve, for Jesus' sake. Don't be afraid of being seen as a fool for Christ. Don't be afraid of being criticized for reaching beyond your grasp in faith, or of falling on your face trying to do something good, something great for God. In one of Peter's stories, Jesus walks on the water to a boat full of disciples, including Peter. The others are worshipping him, but Peter wants to come out and walk with him. His vacillating faith causes him to sink, and we tend to fault Peter for his lack of faith = but remember, the other disciples are still back in the boat. It's only those folks who are willing to reach out, who are willing to leave the boat, who will walk on the water.

When Jesus asks the disciples who people say he is, the rest of the disciples offer logical responses, some very flattering to Jesus. It is Peter who blurts out, out of a heart full of faith and love, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!" The others wouldn't have said that, it would have been seen as too far-reaching, too close to blasphemy. And so it is to Peter, and Peter alone, that Jesus says, "You are truly blessed, Simon bar Jonah, for God has revealed this to you, not men. It is upon this rock that I will build my church!"

God grant us more Peters - more men and women who are willing to wear their heart on their sleeves, who are willing to make mistakes for the sake of love of Christ, who are willing to give up being safe, for the sake of following their Lord, people who follow their Lord with all their heart, and strength, and mind. And may they always be welcome among us.