What are some familiar sounds in your daily life? Perhaps a notification
sound effect on your cell phone, a dog barking, or the hourly chime of a
household clock. For most of us, a rooster’s crow is not a familiar sound
of daily life, but it would have been for Peter just as it still is today for
many people living in less developed or more rural places than South
Bend, Indiana. I (Ryan Roeder, Farmington Square Home Group) grew
up on a farm not far from South Bend, but I’ve only heard the morning
crows of a rooster when visiting third-world countries or once while
staying at a vacation rental. The loud rooster’s crow was disruptive and
annoying, waking me up too early and ruining my relaxation. But for
Peter, a rooster’s crow carried much more significance.
- Please read Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75.
Every time Peter would hear a rooster crow, for the rest of his life, he
would be reminded of his greatest failure. He denied Jesus, whom he
rightly proclaimed to be “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matt.
16.15). He lied to Jesus about his loyalty, and then hours later he lied
to bystanders about his relationship with Jesus. He relied on the feeble
strength of his flesh rather than the divine power of the Almighty God.
Imagine if your cell phone notification dinging, a dog barking, or a clock
chiming reminded you of your greatest failure and sin? To have this
daily reminder of failure sounds awful, and it probably was for Peter.
But judging from the rest of Peter’s life (e.g., see Acts 4.1-20), maybe it
was actually a great blessing to be given a daily, even hourly, reminder
of the weakness of your flesh and your need rely instead upon divine
power (see 2 Peter 1.3). Consider what sounds, words, memories, or
images can serve for you as reminders of your need for the power of
God through his Spirit and the forgiveness of Christ.
Linked below is the song Rooster Crow, written by a pastor and bluesrock musician from Chicago named Glenn Kaiser. Even if the music is
not to your personal liking, allow raw intensity of the blues melody
and the discomforting lyrics (below) to provide a taste of what Peter
might have felt. May we also have a greater sense of urgency in our own
identification with Christ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4m_hClgEJc
Rooster Crow by Glenn Kaiser (2001)
What did you say? What did you do?
When they asked you, “Who are you?”
Did you tell ‘em, who you know
Did you hear that rooster crow
How will you answer? And where will you go?
Did you hear that rooster crow?
In the alley, in the street
In the school yard, do you take the heat?
Did you hide it? Who do you know?
Did you hear that rooster crow?
You say you’re walking that Calvary road
But are you letting everybody know?
Does your light shine? Does it show?
Or do you hear that rooster crow?