3rd Sunday of Easter
April 22, 2007
by Reverend Deacon Lawrence A. St. Onge
Father John of FeCamp, an abbot in Normandy, France, who died in 1078, wrote: “Sinner though I am, I have no doubt that I am one with the Lord through grace. My sins may hinder my steps, but the Lord claims me as his own. My own guilt may threaten to separate me from him, but Christ does not reject me because we share a common nature. The Lord is not so lacking in tenderness as to forget the human race, to be unmindful of the form in which he himself is clad. He took that form for love of me; how can he fail to acknowledge me as his own? No, the Lord is not so cruel; he cannot help loving his own flesh, his own members, his own heart’s blood.”
The Apostle Peter was an amazing character, if you will. He is the first to call Jesus, Messiah and Lord, and thus Jesus says to him that he is “rock,” and upon that “rock” Jesus will build his church. Peter is also the one at the Last Supper who says that he will die for Jesus, if necessary, but then, before the night is over, denies Jesus three times and takes an oath that he never knew the man. Peter is the truest and most eager of the disciples, but because of this, he is also the most disappointing in the moment of his greatest failure.
From time to time in our daily living and life, many of us have probably been like Peter in our inconsistent response to Jesus’ invitation to “follow him.” Those of us who have faltered and failed in our own discipleship from time to time, have also experienced the same shame that Peter felt, when our self-interest outweighs his loyalty in the critical hour.
When Peter encounters Jesus in today’s gospel, the Risen Lord could have said to Peter, “Woe to you Simon, Son of John! For your denial of me you are doomed to wither like the fig tree.” And Jesus could have chosen another spokesperson, and the pope would be sitting on the Chair of James or Andrew, today. How wonderful it is, then, to realize that Jesus, in his final victory, does not deny Peter. He does not even ask Peter - Will you ever sin again? Nor does he ask – Will you ever be afraid again? And he does not ask – Do you promise that you will never fall on your face again in the midst of fear, darkness and danger?
The gospel then gives us the wonderful dialogue between Jesus and Peter, demanding the triple affirmation from Peter as a repudiation of his triple denial of Jesus. What Jesus asks is: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” And the response, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” And the command to Peter, “Then feed my sheep.”
Jesus was not about to let Peter wallow in his own guilt and self-pity. Yes, he had done a terrible thing; he had denied the Lord, but what was most important to Jesus was Peter’s love of him, not the unachievable promise of human perfection and sinlessness. Jesus knows that saying our “yes” to love is a faster track to holiness than constantly saying our “no” to sin and darkness. Both may lead to holiness, but our saying “yes” to love is a more enjoyable way of getting there. St. Augustine said – “Love and do what you will.” In other words, the love for Jesus and for neighbor will naturally lead to a moral and spiritually fulfilling life. True love means putting the one we love first, and ourselves second.
Peter should be a model for us. He chose for Jesus and against Jesus, but Jesus still asked him to come along again; to follow him. Jesus was not about to let Peter wallow in his own guilt and self-pity. Yes, Peter had done a terrible thing, he had denied the Lord; but to Jesus, there were more important things to consider: Peter, as leader of the apostles, was the “rock” on which the kingdom of Jesus Christ was to be built.
In today’s first reading, Peter happily accepts being flogged for the sake of the word of God. In a complete reversal from the coward who lied on Good Friday about knowing Jesus, Peter tells the Sanhedrin that he will listen to the Lord rather than them.
This all happened because Peter accepted forgiveness of the Lord and moved on with the Lord’s work. That is the main message for those of us who have sinned and then sought forgiveness. We cannot allow ourselves to be stuck in the past. Jesus has far more important things for us to do then wallow in guilt.
We do not have the right to give up on ourselves. Others are depending on us. We all have a function, a mission to complete with our lives. By virtue of our baptism we are the members of the Body of Christ and are called to fulfill our function by proclaiming of the gospel of Christ for the good of the world.
Jesus rose from the dead both to give us his life and also to enable us to impart his life to others.
We are all human beings in need of the forgiveness of God. But once we have been forgiven, we need to get to work. Jesus’ message to Peter -- “Show your love for me, Simon Peter, by feeding my sheep” – is also our message.
