When Jesus said Peter was the rock on which he would build his church, what did he mean? Hauerwas has no doubt –
‘Peter stands within the church, charged with keeping the church true to its witness to Jesus….Peter was not called to "keep the peace", but rather to insure that the church has the countless conflicts necessary for its holiness.’
Hauerwas’ take on Peter’s ability to see and state who Jesus is, is sympathetic. What Jesus says about who he is, how he must die, and what it means to follow him, isn’t an invitation to a more satisfying life. Discipleship isn’t about self-fulfillment, but about faithful following to calvary if need be.
Jesus therefore, tells his disciples that if they are to follow him they must take up their cross. If they seek to save their lives using the means the world offers to insure their existence, then their lives will be lost. Rather, they must be willing to lose their lives "for my sake" if they are to find life. Jesus is not telling his disciples that if the learn to live unselfishly they will live more satisfying lives. Rather, he says that any sacrifices they make must be done for his sake. The crosses they bear must be ones determined by his cross.(Page 152-3)
The ethicist in Hauerwas is deeply ambivalent about the self-fulfilment motive for following Jesus. The cross isn’t an alternative way to self fulfilment – but an alternative way to live in a violent world, which requires the sacrifice of self as a witness to the self-giving love of God in Christ.
Over at faith and Theology there is a fascinating post on ‘Ten Propositions on Self Love’, which has attracted an avalanche of comments. It is a good corrective to the self-centering tendency of much contemporary spirituality, theology and ethics. Click on Ben Myers name on the sidebar.
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