Boldness in action

Somewhere along the way, we started to believe that "church people" are quiet, passive and only interested in "Jesus, meek and mild". We follow passively. we speak softly. We hide our uniqueness (aka weirdness)so we present a very bland exterior and over time, we develop this fakeness about us that outsiders can sniff out in a second.
Oh, we never MEAN to do this, but the pressure to conform is significant and few can resist it for very long.
Maybe that's why the Apostle Peter has always fascinated me. He was loud, overly confident, maybe a bit coarse or blunt, quick to speak and slow to think...the sort of person that makes us "nice church people" blush...am i right?
This passage jumped out at me today for a different reason that it has up until now...
here:
"They (the women) left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. mary magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other women with them kept telling these things to the apostles,but the apostles didn't believe a word of it, thought they were making it all up.
But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that's all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head." Luke 24:9-12 (the message)

Up until now, i have been astounded by the poor opinion the men had of the women's integrity. From what i have learned, women were not considered reliable generally (or apparently here either) and were especially not allowed to testify in court, not to mention other limitations which we now find incomprehensible. But it was the reality of the day, so we'd best not "rise up" and misinterpret that aspect, i think. (although i admit the sheer number of women involved here would make one stop and wonder..)
The other aspect of this that generally strikes me is that Jesus ARRANGED (yes, on purpose) that it would be women to be the first to hear the resurrection news- straight from the angels themselves. Which is remarkable as he grew up in the same patriarchal society as the rest of the disciples had. I'm not sure what profound meaning that has for us, but that's a discussion for another time.
However, on reading this passage today, i was struck by 2 different things. The passivity of the Eleven in hearing such outlandish news. Isn't it easy to believe we have a handle on what God would or would not do? That we can anticipate what actions our Lord would take in any circumstances. Yet, it says "my ways are not your ways. my thoughts are not your thoughts." (ok, in the Bible somewhere. i suck at this part!) But maybe its hard to imagine trusting Someone so unpredictable. We might be made fools of for easily believing something that sounds ridiculous. (Oh Lord, save us from our own egos!!)
So there they sit. the Eleven- Christ's chosen inner circle of guys...listening to these women claim that Jesus overcame death and left the tomb. (ok, i have to admit that they didn't have the Holy Spirit's presence in them yet, as we do now. So let's cut them a BIT of slack...)
The second thing is this:
Suddenly, Peter "jumped to his feet". The quick-thinking apostle realizes that there is a simple way to find out for certain if its true. Off he dashes to the tomb!! And John is on his heels all the way.
y'know...while i like to see myself as a bold person, i can hazard a guess that i'd be one of those "lumps" sitting back with the group...content in my neatly-constructed idea of who God is....wondering why the two (peter and john) had dashed out. I'm far too content with my $2 worth of God (as the old parable-type saying goes) to risk much, to go out on the proverbial limb in faith.
Just the same, i can't help but like Peter's boldness here. He's no hesitator. He regularly acts before thinking...and this is no exception. But there is a certain hunger to see Jesus again that prompts it, i am guessing. (or perhaps the longing to apologize to Christ for his 3 denials...) We don't know that part.
I guess i want to remind myself that acting boldly isn't always bad. Also, that acting timidly isn't good very often, at all!! We are called to a bold faith, to a risk-taking life of dynamic obedience. And I just don't see how we can do this while being "nice, mild church people"?!!
So toss a dash of boldness into the recipe of your day today. Go out on a limb in faith...pray boldly and directly- no mamby-pamby prayers.
I can't wait to hear what happens!!
out...