Pie Crust Promises

Mark 14:29  Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.”

As Mary Poppins is tucking the children into bed one night Michael says, “Will you stay if we promise to be good?”

Mary Poppins wisely answered, “That’s a pie crust promise. Easily made, easily broken.”

Sitting with Jesus at the last supper, Peter makes just such a promise. “I will never leave you.” Jesus goes on to tell Peter that before dawn Peter will deny him three times.

And he does.

Sitting in the room with Jesus and the other disciples, Peter was strong and confident. After he saw Jesus betrayed and arrested he lost that confidence. So when a young girl confronts Peter about being with Jesus, his pie crust promise crumbles.

We must be careful making promises to God and to the people around us. Make sure you can follow through on your word. Don’t promise anything in the heat of the moment, instead think it through. “Can I really deliver what my words are getting me into?” If not, don’t promise. Believe me when I tell you that this is a lesson I have learned the hard way, and am still learning. How about you?

Today’s readings: Deuteronomy 5,6; Psalm 43; Mark 14