Paulette and I just returned from a marvelous vacation; we took a Seine river cruise in France. Some of trip involved travelling by bus through the Normandy countryside, and as we traveled along we saw that there were rooster weather vanes on top of some of the church steeples (you can see this in other European Catholic countries as well). Why?

The most common explanation for their presence is that they are to remind us that Peter denied Christ three times before the rooster crowed twice, and that we are just a fallible as he. This conveys a humbling and slightly depressing message, but there is a bigger message if we look beyond the obvious.

This spring in Charlie Meier’s Bible study class we read the book Simon Peter by Adam Hamilton. Hamilton devotes one entire chapter to Peter’s denial of Christ (without making any mention of steeple roosters). In Matthew 26:31-35 Christ warns Peter, despite his objections, that Peter would deny Him; the cock crows the second time in verses 74-75. Hamilton points out that these verses should not be considered in isolation; there is more to the story. Christ greatly loves Peter and has confidence in him, for already in Matthew 16:18 he says, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Indeed Peter would become a great preacher of the Gospel, and you can you can see this by reading one of his sermons that appears in Acts 3:12-26. The Gospels portray Peter as a strong, dynamic, outspoken man, and this helps us visualize him forcefully proclaiming his message to all.

What about us? As the hymn says, we might not be able to preach like Peter, but we can know that God loves us and has confidence that we also can proclaim Him.

If you ever see a steeple rooster, let it announce to you, like a live rooster announcing the coming a new day, that God loves YOU and me unconditionally, flawed as we are.

By the way the rooster that used to be atop Notre Dame Cathedral’s steeple was salvaged from the rubble.

Jim

Notre Dame’s Rooster