Pastor's Message
3rd Sunday of Easter
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?" And Peter said to Him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” John 21:17
In today’s Gospel, Peter decides to go fishing, and invites the other disciples to join him. Looks like the disciples longed to return to their daily routine that they were used to before Jesus called them. This was despite the commissioning we heard last Sunday; “As the Father has sent me so also, I send you.” The disciples had gone from Jerusalem back to Galilee, the place of their first calling. John, the Evangelist tells us that, the disciples went fishing at night; Darkness, for John, indicated ignorance, a lack of understanding of the Risen Christ. Jesus appearing at the dawn of the day, “just as day was breaking,” signified an enlightenment, the opening up of the disciples’ minds brought about by the Risen Lord.
In this encounter, it was Jesus, as usual, who initiated contact and addressed them in a very intimate way; “Children,” a form of address, not found elsewhere in the Gospel of John indicating an intimate relationship. They did not recognize the Lord, John tells us, until the Miracle! It was then, when the beloved Disciple, (the one who believed) pointed out the Risen Jesus to the other Disciples; “It is the Lord.”
The Risen Lord show great concern for his Disciples; He had prepared breakfast for them; and his presentation of the bread hints to the reader, the Presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic Meal.
After they had finished breakfast, Jesus focused his attention on Peter, their Leader; “Simon, son of John, do you love more than these?”
Jesus demands a threefold confession of love, obviously reminding us about Peter’s threefold denial of him on the onset of the passion in the courts of the High Priest. Peter had denied the Lord three times; was he sincere this time. Pope Benedict XVI meditating on this passage in his book, “The Apostles,” (p. 53) pays attention to and analyzes the Greek Word for “Love” used in every question; by Christ and in the responses of Peter! “Fileo;” “standing for “the love of Friendship”, “tender but not all-involving” and “Agapao” standing for “Love without reservation;” total and unconditional self-giving.
Jesus asks Peter the first time using (agapas-me) with this total and unconditional Love. “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Prior to the experience of betrayal, Peter, would certainly have answered “He loved Jesus unconditionally! Remember his words “though all may have their faith shaken, mine will never be. … even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you. Now, Peter knew the bitter sadness and pain of betrayal. Peter knew the drama of his own weakness; he responded with humility; “Lord; you know that I love you (filos-se)” Peter responded with my poor human Love. Even when Jesus insists again for unconditional Love, Peter still responded that he loved him with fragile human love.
The third Jesus only says to Simon; “Fileis-me?” Peter, “Do you love me with the simpler not all involving love. Peter is grieved but honest, responded; “Lord you know everything, you know that I love you!”
The Pope Benedict xvi concludes; Jesus put himself on the Level at Peter, rather than Peter ascending to His Level; The Level of total self-giving love.
And this was the Miracle! The Lord who conforms himself to Peter; a Divine conformity, that gave hope to a disciple who had experienced the bitter pain of betraying his Lord. It was on this humble realization of Peter’s unworthiness and dependence on the strength given by God that Jesus entrusted this flock to him. “Feed my lambs … tend my sheep … feed my sheep!”
It was God’s Power that guided Peter to the total and unconditional self-giving up to his self-giving as a witness of Christ. In the First Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles Peter manifests this unconditional acceptance of his role as a witness. In front of the High Priest (in the court he had denied Christ before) He had the courage give his testimony; “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised him, though you had him killed by hanging on a tree. God exalted him as leader and savior … we are witnesses of these things!”
In the year 64 AD, Peter, glorified God as predicted by Christ, affirming his Love for his Master. Peter was crucified under Emperor Nero requesting to be crucified up-side-down, a sign of unworthiness of his death to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
