Peter we know; he was a fisherman. Definitely not a speechmaker. But that’s what he became. And also an organiser and one to solve a problem of succession. Problems of succession always arise when death or something else takes away a leader. The disciples had lost Judas and needed a replacement as a witness of the resurrection. Peter had the answer: an election They should choose either Joseph or Matthias. The fisherman had spoken. The Eleven made their choice by lot; and their choice was Matthias.
This was not the end of speech-making for Peter. He found himself having to address a noisy crowd (why else would the writer mention his ‘loud voice’?) who had just been present at a linguistic miracle. Only those who nowadays have laboured to instil nouns masculine and feminine in young English children are in a position to pass judgment on these monolinguals. It was as though Saturday morning shoppers in a market town in England were found talking in French, German, Spanish and languages of north Africa. The news they heard was equally stunning; they had failed to recognise the Messiah In their own language visitors from overseas found that they had failed to recognise the Messiah.
And then came another speech. This time Peter had an equally daunting task: convincing the chief priests and their colleagues that they (the Eleven) knew better than the official leaders of religion. It was as though tradesmen and bankers knew all about bitcoins and everything else besides. They did not take kindly to having somebody’s tanks on their lawn.
They stamped the ground in their fury. However, the official leaders had a ready explanation: the demon drink. Once again Peter found himself on his feet, this time denying a charge of drunkenness. Once again he appealed to Scripture. This had all been foretold. Jesus had been raised by God from the dead. About 3,000 accepted what Peter had to say. This, though the word is not used, was the beginning of the Church.
Opposition was immediate. The men who organised religion in the city took offence. It was presumptuous of these laymen like Peter to imagine they could win over non-experts to some new religious ideas. ‘Who did they think they were?’ But an increasing number of people thought otherwise and continued with the new way of life that Peter had set going.
They had the building rocking. If we say this about Glastonbury we know we are making use of hyperbole. They spoke freely about their new faith. They were hot-heads with an aptitude for free speech in a variety of languages. We can well excuse some rocking.
When we think of free speech today we do not mention Peter. But the kind of free speech that marks out a leader like Peter is just as free and just as necessary in today’s society.
AMERICAN IN ESSEX
Elise Peterson is Vicar of Rainham with Wennington in Essex and has not stopped being an American. She was ordained in 2017 after spending 15 years in tec publishing in the USA. She is aiming to create a classic English garden.
RAINHAM IN KENT
Rainham parish church is at the centre of a parish of 30,000. It is built of Kentish ragstone and flint. Its website has a polished series of features introduced by the Vicar Nathan Ward. He leads a strong team from the north and south of England who maintain a full programme serving the community.
‘Download the four Gospels’ is an invitation onf the website of Chrit Chjurch, Armley, Leeds. The church is building Bible study groups and faith courses and has strong links with the local school. The Vicar is Phil Arnold.
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