In William Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, there is a quote which says, “Some are born greatness, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them”. In the context of the play, the statement is part of a joke being played on one of the characters. In the modern day context we use it to speak about how people achieve positions of leadership. We use this phrase to mean that some people are born into power; others work for it; still, others are forced to accept it.

I was reminded of this phrase when listening to Sunday’s Gospel reading. The reading was from Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 16 verses 13 to 20, where Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do they say the Son of Man is?” Many of the disciples provide their thoughts on the question but it is the Apostle Peter who shows the greatest insight into the identity of Jesus when he says “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. If we were to view this passage in isolation, we would be excused for thinking Peter had all the answers, a natural born leader. But we know that Peter was of flawed character, a man who got it wrong far more often than he got it right.