The Weighty Call!

Friday, May 17, 2024

Acts 25:13-21; Jn 21:15-19

Today’s Gospel highlights Peter’s affirmation of love for Jesus. 

The passage becomes an example of the fact that God’s own way of helping us realize our mistakes occurs in a more empathetic setting so that there is no blaming or guilt-giving but only seeking our affirmation of love. For this reason, the passage is both beautiful and profound.

Here, two points deserve our attention. 

More Than These: The phrase refers to the fact that Jesus expects Peter’s love in absolute terms. Though Jesus repeats the question thrice to enable Peter to affirm his love for him, the first instance of the question employed with the phrase symbolizes that the vocation to be a Christian is intended to rise above and beyond any temptation to lukewarmness. Love for Jesus would mean ‘love always’ and ‘love everywhere.’ Jesus takes away Peter’s guilt and consoles him through his own affirmation of love for him. The Lord teaches Peter a lesson through love. 

You Know Everything: Peter’s response reflects his attitude of complete surrender. It is as if Peter is saying, ‘Lord, you know that I loved you enough to follow you, and I fell away from my love because I feared my life.’ Peter’s attitude of surrender appeals to Jesus’ understanding of his vulnerability beyond his willingness to be faithful to the Lord. Peter learnt how tormenting it is to fall away from loving Jesus when he wallowed in guilt. Now, Peter awaits an opportunity to prove his love for Jesus. 

The later part of the Gospel, where Jesus indicates Peter’s glorification of God in the future, symbolizes Peter’s love, which would risk his life for the love of Jesus. 

Also, there is something interesting happening toward the end of the Gospel. 

Jesus asks Peter to ‘follow him.’ But, is Peter not already an apostle? If so, how can we understand Jesus’ statement? 

The invitation to follow Jesus comes after the episode of Peter’s triple denial, his suffering in guilt, and now affirming his love for Jesus three times. 

Therefore, the invitation for Peter to follow Jesus comes after laying out the full range and implications of faithfully following the Lord. Peter knows what is at stake. 

Thus, it is a weighty call. 

It is Peter’s ‘yes’ to this weighty call that makes him capable of supreme sacrifice for the love of Jesus. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar