Word to the Wise
Friday, May 25, 2007 - Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter
[Acts 25:13b-21 and John21:15-19]Simon, son of John, do you love me?
FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2007 FRIDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER [Acts 25:13b-21 and John 21:15-19] Simon, son of John, do you love me? A lot had happened before the scene in which Jesus asks Simon the question quoted above. One actually wonders if Peter (Simon) even remembered denying Jesus three times. Jesus gives Peter three times to make up for this denial by an assertion of love! There is much to think about in this. How would we respond to the question from Jesus, "Do you love me?" Would we try to distinguish between the various kinds of "love" before answering the question? Well, Jesus, I'm not sure what you mean by "love." I don't know if I love you the way I love my family or my spouse or my children or my friends or my dog or my belongings or my favorite __________. Would the next question from Jesus be: Well, what way DO you love me? By the time we chop off the different kinds of love just mentioned, what is left? Is it human at all? When the Lord asks us about love, why do we become tongue-tied? Or do we respond like Peter by trying to avoid the question through saying that Jesus already knows the answer? Or, like the scene in the musical, "Fiddler on the Roof," do we list the things we've "done" for Jesus and neighbor? Can we answer directly with a "Yes" or a "No" and know what we mean when we say it? Would we say, perhaps shamefacedly, "I don't know!" The great English spiritual writer, C.S.Lewis, once responded to the question, "How do I know if I love God?" by saying, "Assume that you do love God and act accordingly." While I find that helpful, I also find it fails to respond directly to Jesus' question. How many of us can? AMEN