RBWords

  

     This scene from the final chapter of the Gospel of John - what scripture scholars call the "Johannine appendix" - seems calculated to restore the fallen status of Peter, who had denied Jesus three times in the courtyard of the High Priest [John 18:17, 25-27].  Peter seems to try to escape this confrontation by saying each time, "Lord, you know......"  Jesus doesn't let him off the hook.  Peter pays an embarrassing price.  However, Jesus follows up on this three-fold  challenge with the words:  "Follow me." 

 

     It would be easy to say that Peter is suitably chastised and forget the incident except that those three questions are not meant just for him!  The gospels were not written to talk only about past events or reflect problems currently affecting the early Christian community.  Each gospel is like a homily that continually preaches to us in our own day.  Would we find ourselves exasperated or irritated like Peter by being asked a question that both we and the inquirer know the answer to?  Do we respond to the Lord's question like the wife in the musical, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, when asked by her husband, "Do you love me?" by listing the things we have done for the Lord instead of simply saying, "Yes, Lord, I love you!" ?   Would we not feel better if a loved one says, without being asked, "I love you!" ?   Love does have consequences, and Jesus' admonition, "Follow me!" brings great challenges.  Love is not an abstraction when it comes to the gospel.  The crucifixion is ample evidence!  If our response to the Lord's question is, "Yes, Lord, I love you!" then we had better be prepared to follow him.   AMEN