Do You Love Me?

The Gospel for the third Sunday of Easter is from John and repeats what was heard during the Easter Octave. The story is about a post-resurrection event when Jesus ventures to the Sea of Galilee and meets his disciples fishing. Near dawn, Jesus calls out to the fishermen and asks whether they have caught anything to eat. He then tells them to cast their nets to the right side of the boat, and after they catch many fish.

The disciple Jesus loved (John) was the first to notice that the man speaking to them was the Lord. Peter was the only one to dive into the sea and swim to shore while the others, not far away, came in still in the boat. As they ate breakfast with the risen Lord, John, the Evangelist, pivots the story to become a dialogue between Jesus and Peter.

Remember, only days before plunging into the sea, Peter had denied Jesus three times after assuring him that he would never betray him. How did he get over his failure? Not only does he seem to have gotten over it, but he appears to ignore it. Peter’s behavior happened so often during his friendship with Jesus that we should not be surprised when it happens again. How many instances in the Gospel do we hear of another failure or weakness in Peter?

When we are first introduced to Peter, he is fishing and catches nothing, much like our story today. Jesus tells him to throw his net in deep water, and his response is to mock our Lord. To his surprise, his net is loaded with fish. Peter responds, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Jesus does not rebuke but invites Peter, “Follow me,” he says.

Later, when Jesus asks his disciples who people think he is, Peter responds, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” His faithful response is met with his new name, “Rock,” and the Church will be built upon him.

Just moments after the miraculous proclamation, the Rock gets in the way when Jesus tells his disciples he must suffer and die. “Get behind me, Satan,” Jesus reprimands Peter. Can you think of anything worse than being called the Prince of Darkness? Peter gets behind Jesus, yet another flub.

Peter must have been getting used to his failure. Perhaps it was his acceptance of his weakness that allowed him to interact without shame even after his denial and even after Jesus’ brutal death, and the post-resurrection appearances on the beach.

John’s Gospel now moves to the one-on-one dialogue between Jesus and Peter. Three times, Jesus asked him if he loved him. The first time, Peter says he does, and the Lord responds, “Feed my lambs.” The second question is similar to the first, except for Jesus’ response. This time, he says, “Tend my sheep.” Finally, the third time, whether Peter loves him is met with sadness. Jesus then reiterates to feed his sheep.

Then what follows is Jesus’ prediction about Peter’s future, where he will be taken away against his will and the sort of death he will experience. Peter’s future is known to us; we know he will die for the risen Lord. He was killed the same way as Jesus, but unlike Jesus, he was crucified upside down because he felt he was not worthy to die exactly as Jesus.

The resurrection is such a powerful event that it shapes how we live and die. Peter’s folly-filled life is not the exception but the rule for most people. Plenty of times in life, we have acted similarly to Peter, choosing to do the expedient rather than the truthful. How often does our courage shrivel up when the power of evil seems to overwhelm us?

Think of all the questions our Lord could have asked Peter. Will you promise not to deny me again? Will you promise me not to get in my way while I do my Father’s will? Do you finally get it? But our Lord did none of these because he is interested in one thing, the heart of the one before him.  The gift of the person, even weakened and frail, is what the Risen One is to redeem.

This is the God we worship, so unconcerned with our inadequacies and failures, and only with whether we love him. What wonderous love he has for us, a love that chose to be incarnated in flesh and blood and to die, a love that broke the bonds of death, and a love that never gives up on his people. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

No matter how many times we fail or how many times we may specifically ignore God’s love, he will never cease to ask whether deep down we love him. Every day we have been graced to live on this earth, the question is asked of us. Some days, we answer affirmatively about how we act and treat our neighbors. Some days, we ignore the question because we are too busy with silly daily concerns and annoyances. On other days, we do not answer because our behavior is the antithesis of love.

When Jesus asks us whether we love him, the resurrection is not some historical fact concerning Jesus only. Quite the contrary, Jesus’s resurrection is in the present, in our present. Our salvation is an ongoing event, and like the early disciples, we sometimes run in fear or deny him. Even if we fail, there is one mandatory thing we must ultimately answer: Do we love God?

For Peter, it took three times; for us, it may take one hundred. Jesus’s resurrection has no meaning for us if our answer is not affirmative.