Gospel JN 21:15-19
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Reflection:
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Here we see Peter as both sheep and shepherd.
Undoubtedly, filled with remorse after having denied Jesus three times, Peter encounters the Risen Christ like a lost sheep returning to the fold.
Clearly, Jesus loves Peter, not only because of his strength and goodness but in spite of his weakness.
I feel so close to Peter because I too slip and stumble as I make my way along the path the Lord has laid out for me.
But my hope and strength lie in my faith that Jesus knows that I love him and that he loves me just as I am.
Like most Catholics, when young, I had been baptized and made my First Communion and Confirmation.
But, I never really “knew” Jesus until later in life, at forty-five, when after crashing on the rocks of alcoholism, I lived a Cursillo retreat.
At Cursillo, I learned that I do not have to earn God’s love by being perfect. Like Peter, I too met the God who loves me in spite of my weaknesses.
I discovered that my weakness is a gift, a saving grace.
For it is only through the acceptance of my weakness that I can recognize my need for God.
Failure, not success, is the compass that constantly turns me towards “home,” towards the Risen Christ.
“In all my trials, great or small, my confidence shall be
Unshaken as I cry, dear Lord, I place my trust in thee.” Sacred Heart of Jesus Prayer