Good morning!

A small section of beach on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee reminds me about the power of moving forward in forgiveness.

But first... here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Friday, November 22, 2019
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• In the wake of the scandal surrounding one Texas House committee chairman—a Democrat arrested recently for possession of cocaine—some state lawmakers are suggesting implementing the drug testing of legislators. But as Brandon Waltens reports, some Texans are wondering why drug testing for elected officials isn’t already in place.
      
• State Sen. Pat Fallon (R–Prosper) filed a drug-testing bill for lawmakers during the legislative session earlier this year, but it never received a committee hearing.
       
• Fifteen Texas counties have declared support for citizens’ gun rights and rejected unconstitutional firearms restrictions. Erin Anderson has the details.
     
• Thomas Warren reports on the latest candidate to enter the fray in the open-seat race for the 13th Congressional District, bringing the number to eight.
     
• In the latest edition of Texas Scorecard Radio, Brandon Waltens is on hand to discuss yet another scandal in the Texas House, and then Reagan Reed explains why some are concerned about ethics in Montgomery County government. Matt Beebe stops by to discuss the highly publicized Rodney Reed case. He explains to Tony McDonald and listeners why some celebrities and politicians are getting it all wrong.
      
• The state and nation have been riveted by the case of Baby Tinslee, the 10-month-old that Cook Children’s Hospital wants to remove from life-support over the objections of her family. A judge blocked the hospital from doing so, reports Direct Action Texas, and now the hospital wants that judge removed from the case.
      
• The hospital claims the judge should be removed because he has watched Facebook Live events co-hosted by Empower Texans and Texas Right to Life. In short, the hospital seems to think the judge is too concerned with protecting innocent life.
      
• Oh, the horror.
       
• The Conservative Leaders Gala is coming up! Will you be with us on Dec. 7 in Irving?

Friday Reflection

It’s nice to have someone make you breakfast; one of those little things that mean more than words can express.

Now imagine how the Apostle Peter must have felt when he saw someone on the beach along the Sea of Galilee making breakfast for him that morning 2,000 years ago. And then he realized that someone was his Savior. In the Gospel of John, this is the moment when Peter finds he has been forgiven for denying Jesus following his arrest in the garden. The resurrected Christ is preparing him his breakfast, without a hint of repudiation or recrimination.

The most probable location for the event is found on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee – marked as such within a couple generations by the Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter. 

Set aside the doctrinal questions raised in John 21, and just focus on the man. It was only a few nights earlier Peter had loudly protested he could never have denied his friendship and affiliation with Jesus... only to do so - days later- three times in the span of a few hours. 

The shame must have been overwhelming.

Overwhelming, but not insurmountable, as Peter learned that morning over breakfast.

Likewise, Jesus clearly took no pleasure in knowing the heart of His friend that night in Jerusalem. But that same knowledge meant Jesus also knew Peter wasn’t lost. 

The Resurrected Jesus did not make a big show of confronting Peter with tongue-lashing recriminations or demands of apologies. Instead, Jesus asked Peter to move forward, to “Follow me.” 

An enemy cannot betray us; a stranger’s denial has no sting. We can only be denied by those who we love, by those we have let in closest to us. We must choose our response. We can let our sense of betrayal consume us, or we can choose to move lovingly forward in forgiveness.

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