One of my favorite stories this time of year is about the pope visiting America. You may know it and if you do, you’ll enjoy hearing it again. It’s that good. The story goes that the pope’s motorcade ran into heavy traffic coming from the airport and his limousine was separated from his security escorts. In no time at all, the limo driver was hopelessly lost.

The pope told the driver to pull over. It had been years since he’d driven a car but since they were lost anyway, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to drive when no one was around to see it.  So the pope and the driver opened their doors and switched places.

The pope pulled the limousine back onto an expressway, and it felt so good to be behind the wheel again that he forgot all about the speedometer. In no time at all, a police cruiser had pulled them over. The officer swaggered up to the driver’s-side window. He took one look at the pope, sitting in the front seat and grinning sheepishly, and then he turned around and went quickly back to the patrol car.

“I don’t know what we oughta do,” the officer said to his partner. “That limo belongs to somebody really big.”

“Oh yeah?” answered his partner. “Who is it — the mayor?”

“No, he’s bigger than that.”

“Is it the governor?”

“No, even bigger than that.”

“You don’t mean the president of the United States?”

“No, this guy’s even bigger than that.”

“Well, who could be bigger than the president?” the partner asked.

“I don’t know,” said the other officer. “But he has the pope for his driver!”

Just about every time I read Matthew’s version of Palm Sunday, I think of that story. There were a lot of people watching Jesus enter Jerusalem who didn’t know who he was. But they knew that he was someone big riding in on a donkey because of the commotion about his entry. Matthew says  “the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" (Matthew 21: 10).  The whole city --who could have predicted it?  Certainly not Simon Peter.  Just a few days earlier when Jesus told his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, be arrested, nailed to a cross and die.  Peter exclaims, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you” (Matthew 16: 22b).  As Jesus’ closest friend and vocal leader of the disciples, Peter didn’t want him to go to Jerusalem. He felt it was too dangerous. Peter certainly couldn’t predict that the whole city would turn out to welcome him. It was simply unpredictable. 

Not going to Jerusalem wasn’t an option. Jesus made it clear to the disciples that they needed to leave Galilee and travel to Jerusalem for in the holy city, he’d find his destiny. But the observance of the Passover was a required pilgrimage. Every Jewish male throughout the Mediterranean world would attempt to make it to Jerusalem for the seven day festival.  During the 1^st century under Herod’s rule the population of Jerusalem may have been as large as 200,000 people but when the pilgrims arrived for Passover, the city swelled to four or five times that size. The Roman government always perceived Jerusalem as a powder keg waiting to explode during the Passover. Pilate, living in the opulent nearby seaport of Caesarea Martimina, emptied the garrison sending troops to quash any insurrection activity. They were aggressive in making arrests and putting down anything that felt like civil disobedience.

You can see why Peter was concerned about Jesus making the pilgrimage. As the leader of the disciple and the one who is always mouthing off during their apprenticeship, Peter always states his position. In fact, in every story about Jesus and his disciples, Peter takes a vocal lead until it comes to this the entry into Jerusalem and then, he goes missing. Where’s Peter at Palm Sunday?

We can assume that he travels with Jesus because scripture says Jesus took the twelve with him as he headed to Jerusalem. On the outskirts of the city, probably at the home of their friends Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha, in Bethany near the Mount of Olives, “Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately.’” (Matthew 21: 2-3). Is Peter one of the two? It’s not likely because Peter is always identified by name. Where’s Peter?

The Mount of Olives is two miles to the east of Jerusalem. When Jesus mounts the donkey, he begins to ride in, reminding people of Zechariah’s prophecy of the king entering Jerusalem. In fact, King Solomon road in through the very same gate once he completed the Temple. The Jewish pilgrims, seeing Jesus on the donkey, know the prophecy. They cut leafy branches and begin to shout “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”  (Matthew 21:9b). Is Peter leading the parade? Is Peter shouting? None of the gospels name him. Where’s Peter?

“When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?” (Matthew 21:10).  Do you remember this question? Two weeks ago we read that Jesus asks his disciples about the crowds and then asks, “Who do you say I am?” And Peter announces, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16).  Who is this, they ask? Where is Peter to answer this question?  “The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’” (Matthew 21: 11)  That’s not Peter’s answer. Where is Peter? Throughout the Galilean apprenticeship, if there is one thing we can say about Peter, he is predictable. But now, he’s gone missing and that’s very unpredictable.

On Palm Sunday, Peter goes missing. As I taught a Bible study this week, someone said, “I know where Peter is. He’s like everyone else in our community. He’s on spring break. He’s at the beach!” That’s a clever thought but one which, as much as I might have fun trying, it is hard to shore up, to drop a pun, biblically. There are probably plenty of Peter Geists and Peter Fishers and Indy Peters on the beach on Palm Sunday but Simon Peter is not one of them.

None of the gospels tells us anything about the location of Peter on the first day of Holy Week but he gives us a clue in his letter, 1^st Peter.  Peter’s there, blending in with the other disciples. He’s gone into “wait and see” mode.  That’s the sixth Peter Principle. Discipleship requires times when you must wait and see God’s plan unfold. Sometimes, we need to retreat, step back, to prepare to participate in God’s plan.  It’s a time for preparing for the trial ahead. Peter writes about it this way.  “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert.” (1 Peter 5: 6-7a) Peter’s getting ready for the week ahead.

On the one hand, Peter stepping back from his leadership position is very unpredictable. Peter is the first named by Jesus, first called to follow Jesus and the first to proclaim Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  Peter is the one who gets out of the boat, climbs the mountain, asks about forgiveness, and declares he’d given up everything to follow Jesus. He is the clear leader of the twelve. Going missing on Palm Sunday is very unpredictable.

On the other hand, Peter’s vision for Jesus is at odds with Jesus’ understanding for his life and there has been conflict about it. Peter is coming off a couple experiences which might have predicted that he’d need to retreat into to wait and see mode. He professes his faith and Jesus says, “Tell no one.” He sees Jesus on the mountaintop transfigured and hears God declare Jesus His son and Jesus says, “Tell no one.” Twice the one who likes to mouth off is told to button it up until Jesus goes to Jerusalem and is handed over to be mocked and flogged and crucified.  (Matthew 20: 19a).  And when Peter protests that this can’t happen, Jesus looks at Peter and says, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me” (Matthew 16: 23b)

With this confrontation, it makes sense that he has gone into retreat, waiting, seeing Jesus plan for the week to unfold.  He knows it is a dangerous time and that if he’s not careful, Jesus could accuse him of doing Satan’s work. He knows that “like a roaring lion (his) your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour…..” (1 Peter 5: 8b) and it could be him. He had to “Resist him, (holding) steadfast in (his) your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same…” (1 Peter 5:9)  Indeed as the week unfolds, we know that his brothers were experiencing the same temptation and one of the twelve did not resist him. “Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.” (Luke 22: 4-5).

It’s going to be a rough week. He’s going to change and lots of the assumptions will change as well. We know his entire world will be turned upside down. In such a time, you must wait and see God’s plan unfold. Call it personal preparation. Call it regrouping if you like. Call it getting your footing or recovering your balance. Peter calls it humbling himself before God, disciplining himself. Staying alert.

There was no way he could predict the way the week would unfold. It is simply unpredictable. Jesus rides through the city and goes straight to the Temple where he drives out the moneychangers.  Where is Peter? He’s in wait and see mode, watching God’s plan unfold.  Jesus returns to Bethany and spends time with his friend. Mary anoints him at dinner. Where is Peter? He’s in wait and see mode, watching God’s plan unfold. When the Last Supper is prepared, Peter thinks he’s ready to lead again. He’s back to being the same old Peter, mouthing off about his commitment. But he wasn’t fully prepared and he didn’t resist the temptation to deny Jesus. The adversary didn’t roar like a lion but crowed like a cock and Peter too suffered on Holy Week. Even going into wait and see mode, Peter fails and suffers terribly because his understanding of Jesus was so different than Jesus’. His view of the future and Jesus view are two very different perspectives.

This happens in our lives. We have one plan; God has another. We have one dream; God has another. Believing in your plan instead of God’s can cause suffering and sadness but it can also lead to restoration. This is beautifully told in a children’s story written beautifully by Angela Elwell Hunt. It is about three trees. The trees were talking in the forest one day about their dreams for the future. The first tree said it would like to be made into a cradle, so that it might go on living as a support for the fragile life of a tiny new baby. The second tree wanted to be made into a big ship, so that it might go on living, carrying important cargo and influential people to exotic new lands. The third tree longed to stay right where it was, existing only as a tree, but growing ever taller, and pointing ever higher, to remind everyone that there is a God in heaven who loves them. Those were their dreams: One wanted to be a cradle, one wanted to be a mighty ship, and one wanted to be a tall tree, pointing people toward God.

One day the woodcutters came and chopped down the three trees, and destroyed their dreams. The first tree was not made into a cradle, but into a simple feeding trough, a manger for animals. But the manger was sold to a family in Bethlehem, and on the night Jesus was born, that simple feedbox became the cradle for the Christ Child.

The second tree was built into a boat, but not the kind it had dreamed of – not a mighty ocean-going vessel- but a tiny inexpensive fishing boat. A man named Simon Peter bought the boat, and on one warm afternoon when the crowds pressed in, Jesus himself climbed abroad that small fishing boat so that he might preach good news to the multitudes.

The third tree also was deprived of its dream. It wanted to remain standing tall and pointing toward God. Instead, it was cut down and shaped into a horrible instrument of torture, a cross. But it was on that very cross that Jesus was crucified, transforming a symbol of cruelty into a powerful reminder of God’s eternal love for all people. The three trees’ dreams were crushed and they might have felt that their lives were finished when the dreams were crushed. But God restored them when His plan was revealed.[1]

Discipleship sometimes requires us to wait and see God’s plan unfold. Years after the events of Holy Week, Peter understanding this when he writes: “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.”  (1 Peter 5: 10).  

His restoration comes in Easter.  Until then, Peter has to wait and see.  The same can be said of us. On Palm Sunday, we wait and see throughout this week, God’s plan unfold. Then comes Easter and we are restored.