Word to the Wise
Sunday, April 22, 2007 - Third Sunday of Easter
[Acts 5:27-32, 40B-41; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19]Simon, son of John, do you love me?
How would most of us respond to that question - especially if it was clear between us and the questioner that we had been guilty of betrayal? Is it "pay back time?" I don't think so, even if the question is asked three times - the same number of times that Peter, fulfilling Jesus' prediction, denied him! This isn't a question of Jesus' need. It is a question of Peter's need and our own. Given the number of times that we fail Christ and one another, it seems a mercy to be allowed to still avow our love. Ultimately Christianity is about that love, promised and re-promised over and over again. It is about the recognition that we are fully capable of betraying that love and each time we are invited to promise it again. Further, it is people like us that Christ chooses to follow him each time we promise love, as he invites Peter at the end of this gospel passage. If there is a patron saint of discouraged Christians, St. Peter definitely fills the bill. Perhaps, like him, we may get a bit more discouraged when Jesus persists in asking the question, but that is far better than having no opportunity at all to say, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." AMEN