Jesus came and took the bread, and
gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This was the third time Jesus was
revealed to his disciples after the resurrection.
When they had eaten their
breakfast, Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than
these?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you
know I love you.”
He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you
know I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?”
Peter was grieved because he
asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know
everything. You know I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my
sheep. I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself, and walked where
you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and
another will dress you, and carry you where you don’t want to go.”
Now he said this, signifying by
what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After this, he said to him, “Follow
me.”
Then Peter, turning around, saw John
following, and said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”
Jesus said to him, “If I desire
that he stay until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.” This saying went
out among the others that this disciple wouldn’t die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to
him that he wouldn’t die, but, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is
that to you?” This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and wrote
these things. Know that his witness is true. There are also many other things
Jesus did, which if they would all be written, even the world itself wouldn’t
have room enough for all of them.
Reflection
Having denied Jesus three
times before the crucifixion, Peter now was asked three times by Jesus if he
loved him. This had to be excruciatingly difficult for Peter to experience, and
yet it was filled with grace as well. Have you had a time of painful
accountability in your life? Was grace extended to you in the midst of shame
and guilt? Were you able to accept it?
Prayer: When faced with the
enormity of my failures, Lord, help me accept the forgiveness and grace you
offer.
This is one of my favorite post Easter stories. I have been in Peter's shoes once upon a time when Jesus came to meet me while I was struggling in the boat of my life saying some of the same things. My life from that point became an adventure I didn't plan or ever foresee. I didn't know which sheep Christ wanted me to feed and I was led to them in strange and unexpected ways. The other part of this story has helped me mind my own business when I think others should do what I have been called to do or was called to do. Peter had a work to do that was God inspired. John had another. Unless there are moral and ethical questions at stake that I know I have to challenge, what another person does or doesn't do or another branch of the Christian church does or doesn't do, it is not my job to try to get them to see things or to do things as God inspires me to do. My job is to keep doing what is mine to do and leave others alone.
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