There are forty days between Jesus’ resurrection and his
ascension back into heaven. During that time Jesus appeared to people, taught
them, comforted them, and prepared them for the mission. He was not, however,
always with the disciples as he was before the resurrection.
This account finds seven of the apostles seemingly not
quite knowing what to do with themselves. In Peter’s case this might be because
he doesn’t know where he stands with the Lord. He had denied Jesus. He had
sworn that he was not Jesus’ disciple, and that after very proudly proclaiming
that he would never deny the Lord. His failure was shattering. He needed to be
reaffirmed, reinstated. That is what Jesus did.
Just as Peter had denied Jesus three times, Jesus now
asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” It is actually a little more nuanced
than that because Greek has different words for different kinds of love.
Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” meaning, “Do you love me and
want God’s good for me in my life?” (This is an oversimplification of the deep
concept of Christian love.)
Peter replies, “I love you like a brother!”
“Feed my lambs.”
“Do you love me?” again meaning, “Do you love me and want
God’s good for me in my life?”
Again, “I love you like brother!”
“Shepherd my sheep.”
Then Jesus says, “Peter, do you love me like a brother?”
Do you see what Jesus did there? He didn’t just ask the
question three times, negating the three denials. He moved from a broad but
potent sense of love to a closer more familial love – which was the kind of
love Peter was claiming all along, but of which he fell far short.
How do we love Jesus? Have we really thought through what
it means to want God’s good in someone’s life? After all, this is the kind of
love mentioned when it says that God so loved the world he gave his only Son. I’m
sure we will all find that we fall far short of loving Jesus and our neighbors
as we should, but Jesus never falls short of loving us.
Lord Jesus, thank
you for showing us how you loved your disciples; especially Peter after he
denied you. We fall short of your love all the time, yet you never falter in
loving us. Forgive us. Work in our hearts to help us love you and love our
neighbors as we ought. In your name we pray. Amen.
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