Appreciating the denseness of the Apostles

One of the cool things about reading the Gospels are the accounts of Jesus’ interactions with the Apostles. For example this verse from Matthew 16.

Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad’ducees."And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread."

There are many instances where the Apostles just had no idea was Jesus was saying and engaged in their own form of scriptural literalism. This comforts me to no end that Jesus chose as disciples not theological savants, but regular men who could be quite dense at times. This doesn’t make me feel intellectually superior to the Apostles, just right at home with them. That these were men you could easily have a beer with without feeling out of place. Peter in response to the mystery of the Transfiguration wants to start a building project. How many times do we in response to grace go off in the wrong tangent? At Mass after receiving Communion how often do our minds reflect on anything but what is right there before us. I am quite comfortable reading especially about the foibles of St. Peter and can quite easily identify them with my own spiritual life. After the resurrection Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. Peter replies in the affirmative three times to cancel out the threefold denial on the day of the crucifixion. That what it comes down to is not how well you know the intricacies of theological arguments, but how much you love Jesus. Of course loving Jesus can help you delve deeper into these mysteries. You can see this progress in St. Peter as he went from the man who blurted out whatever first came to him to the Peter who wrote 1 Peter and 2 Peter and the Peter that became a martyr for the faith.