Uncle Peter's Story
Tracing St. Peter's Path to Spiritual Maturity
- Biblical Studies & Commentaries
- Publisher: Resource Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
This book illuminates the human story inside the divine for those exploring the Bible. Uncle Peter's Story presents the Saint Peter of the Gospels as seen, heard, and recorded in the New Testament particularly by his nephew Saint Mark, who was also an eyewitness in Jesus' company during his earthly ministry. Saint Peter was a key figure in the human response to Jesus as a person and as the risen Christ. He recognized who Jesus was and proclaimed it at Pentecost when Holy Spirit was poured out on all disciples. Yes, he had failings too, as the story reveals, but he overcame them and learned about the truth he was called to reveal. His story shows the "Peace be with you" given in the upper room by the risen Lord taking root in a new Peter at Pentecost relying solely on Christ. Presented as a commentary mostly as if by Mark, this book aims to be an introduction to those new to reading the Bible, an aide-memoire to those more established in their Bible reading, and a stimulant to those preaching, teaching, and using Peter's story as a way into the Gospels or as food for prayer.
Endorsements (5)
Afterword
“Toddy Hoare’s imaginative re-telling of the apostle Peter’s story gives us an accessible and insightful account of the life and work of the early church. What shines through Hoare’s approach to Saint Peter’s ministry is just how precarious it was . . . not just living hand-to-mouth but also figuring out where the next call to be comes from and where it leads next. This is an intriguing and unusual book which will resonate with all who engage with it.”
“This is a story which holds your attention from the very beginning, with ‘Uncle Peter’ being portrayed as a very human fisherman who grows to become the leader of the early church through his testing, with his failures being overcome by his perseverance and openness to Christ. It would make an ideal book to give to someone exploring the faith for the first time, with its vivid and direct style. I was enthralled by the story.”
“Drawing on the tradition that Mark’s Gospel is based on the recollections of Peter, Toddy Hoare re-tells it as Uncle Peter’s Story. This means that readers’ minds are focused on the human response to the divine activity taking place in Jesus and experienced by Peter and Mark. This imaginative approach to the Bible may appeal not only to those unfamiliar with the Gospels, but also to those to whom they have become all too familiar.”
“In Uncle Peter’s Story, [Toddy Hoare] brings the interaction between St. Peter and Jesus to life as if he was living amongst the apostles in ancient bible lands. It is all about Christ amongst the day to day lives of fishermen and artisans of the time and what must have been their amazed reaction to Jesus as he healed the sick, ‘his power and popularity rather disrupted life and interrupted mealtimes!’ Perhaps if more of us had read Bible texts so related to actual life amongst family and friends, we would have more belief and faith. I salute Toddy’s work in bringing St. Mark’s Gospel to life and hopefully more awareness amongst the family of the Church of England.”
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