We know the story, it took Thomas Edison something like 10,000 failed attempts to invent the light bulb. And, who can forget the story of the now ubiquitous POST-IT Notes? The adhesive created by 3M wasn’t sticky enough for any useful application…   a failed experiment. A failed experiment, that is, until Arthur Fry wanted to use the adhesive to make bookmarks that wouldn’t hurt the pages of his hymnal as he sang in the church choir. When 3M brought POST-IT Notes to market a decade later, they really took off!

The founder of Honda (Sochiro Honda) is quoted as saying, “Success is 99% failure”. What business and innovation have learned, possibly better than any other human endeavors, is that failure comes from trying to do MORE. Think about it, so many of us are afraid of failure (at work, at home, in relationships, in faith, in fitness, in creativity) that we rarely, if ever, risk and try something new, something more. If we never risk, we never fail…   but we also never achieve something new, or more, or better than we have right now.

Peter was one of Jesus’ closest friends and followers. He loved Jesus deeply. He was committed, passionate, full of enthusiasm, and wanted to distinguish himself among the disciples as the MOST committed and faithful of them. He even proclaims in Matthew 26:33, after Jesus announces that ALL the disciples will desert him, “though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you”. But, as the story goes, out of fear of being associated with Jesus and winding up being imprisoned or crucified himself, Peter denies he ever knew or followed Jesus. He denies him not only once, not only twice, but three times!

Of course, this is an epic failure. But, standing on the brink of danger and death, crucifixion and the end of Jesus’ ministry, Peter experienced what God has really planned for: resurrection, redemption, and new life! After Jesus is raised, he confronts Peter with an opportunity to grow beyond his failure:

¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” ¹⁹ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Jesus asks Peter three times, “do you love me”. One question for each of the three denials Peter made in his failure, followed by one thing Peter can DO for each of his three answers, “yes, I love you”.

What liberation! What redemption! What a great opportunity to grow through failure to a greater faithfulness! We know that Peter went on to become the rock upon which the church was built. This church spans across the world, the centuries, the generations and is filled with fallible people who make mistakes, fail, and deny Jesus each in our own ways

As the church, we look at Peter and we see ourselves…   and we see the grace of God who redeems us beyond our failures and grows us strong and courageous in the faith.