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Peter's keys


These are the Keys Jesus supposedly awarded to St Peter, the keys of the Kingdom. He gave them to him before Peter promised to stick with him no matter what, and then disowned him three times, but not before Peter had developed the habit of opening his mouth and putting his foot in it. So if this story has some truth to it Jesus selected as Judge a man who would always have to have allowances made for him. (Interestingly, Peter does pass Paul's requirement that an Overseer/ episcopos should be a married man.)


I have an amusing but moving image of a sort of Board Meeting in Heaven at which the participants are Jesus, St Peter, and God. They are discussing how humankind are coming along. The impatient one is Jesus who made, allegedly, the biggest and most painful effort to put humankind right. He says "They should be doing better than this by now". Peter, as is his wont, says "But you have to make allowances". And God says "But the suffering, the suffering". 


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