Third Sunday of Easter
Here is to all you Justin Bieber fans. The last I checked, he has more than 51 million likes on his facebook page and close to a million friends as well. How it is possible to have some many ‘likes’ and ‘friends’ on Facebook? Well we now know that there are companies, who for about five dollars, can find you hundreds of Facebook friends. And Justin Bieber has done just that. I cannot wrap my mind around why someone so talented and popular would do that… but I guess these days you are not known by the kind of friends you have but how many friends you have. And thanks to social media we can have as many friends as we want.
How different is the gospel scene where face-to-face, Jesus and Peter talk about their relationship. Jesus is not buying friendship but surely trying to recover one. “Simon Peter” (for that matter Satish, Cindy, Deb, Martha, Christine, or whoever your name is), “Do you love me?” That is the question. Peter’s love-confession for Jesus is one of the most poignant expression of love in the New Testament. I want to spend some time talking about the meaning of this passage.
The most common interpretation, of course, is that the threefold confession of love is meant to compensate for the threefold denial of Jesus. Peter had been close to Jesus from the beginning of his ministry to its very end. This friendship was radically destroyed by Peter’s shocking threefold denial. Jesus offers Peter the chance to recover this closeness. I call Jesus the God of ‘fourth’ chances. Peter denies Jesus three times but the fourth time he makes a threefold confession of Love.
Scripture scholars give us other insights into the threefold confession of Peter. In the time of Jesus a threefold declaration in front of a witness was necessary to make a contract. Peter had made may promises during Jesus’ lifetime. He had promised that he would suffer with Jesus, that he would die with Jesus and that even if all the other disciples abandoned Jesus, he would not do that same. Peter did not keep any of those promises. In the post-resurrection context Peter must be firm. The time for frivolous commitments is over. Thus far Peter girded himself and went wherever he willed. But now another will gird him and he will have to go where he does not wish to go. For this, Peter must be firm in his commitment. Peter’s threefold assertion in front of the beloved disciple is indicative of his firm commitment.
Peter’s threefold confession has another link that is often overlooked. Each time Peter made his love-confession, Jesus’ response refers to feeding and tending sheep. By doing this, John establishes a relationship between this event and Jn 10: 1-18. Verses 14 – 16 are particularly important. Jesus had said “
I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.” In other words, in the post-resurrection church Peter must be a good shepherd like Jesus. He must understand the ministry of Jesus so that he can be to the church and world what Jesus was to the disciples and the world. Peter must be prepared to lay down his life for the sheep as Jesus had laid his life down for the world. For this, he must love. He must love not like he loved in the beginning but he must love like Jesus loved to the end. Perhaps it is important to know that by the time this gospel passage was written, Peter was already martyred. In other words, John’s community was already aware of the martyrdom of Peter.
There is yet another interpretation of the threefold confession of Peter. Whereas Peter was with Jesus throughout his ministry, there were three crucial events of Jesus life that Peter clearly missed: the death of Jesus, the Pentecost and the birth of the church. In the gospel of John all these events happen at the cross. For John, Jesus does not just give up ‘his’ spirit when he dies but gives ‘the’ spirit (meaning the Holy Spirit). This is John’s Pentecost. The first church, for John, is the community gathered at the foot of the cross (Mary the mother of Jesus, the beloved disciple and the other women). Peter was not there at these three crucial events. The threefold repetition of Jesus’ question to Peter may mean to say, “You denied me and you were not there…. Are you sure about your relationship with me now? Are you sure you love me now?” Peter’s response is honest and this honesty leads to a new beginning not only for Peter’s relationship with Jesus but for Peter’s own following of Jesus. The old is gone and the new is here.
Surprisingly, the passage ends with the call of Jesus to Peter, “Follow me.” In John’s gospel Jesus had not said those words to Peter when he was first called. In fact, Jesus had not directly called Peter. Andrew had brought Peter to Jesus and Jesus had merely changed his name from Simon to Kephas (Jn 2: 42). But in the post-resurrection story Peter had come to Jesus very dramatically when he jumped from the boat into the sea when he realized that the risen Jesus was standing at the shore. This was a different Peter and this was a different Jesus he was encountering. After Jesus makes certain that Peter now means business, Jesus says to him, “Follow me.” Instead of going back fishing, Peter’s confession is an assurance to Jesus that Peter would now he catching people; that he would be feeding and tending sheep. Now he is ready to follow Jesus.
It has been customary for me to offer three practical implications of the readings. Today, however, continuing with Jesus’ three questions for Peter, I too have three questions.
1. If Jesus were asking you, “Do you love me?” how would you response?
2. If you say, “Lord you know that I love you?” what do you mean?
3. When Jesus calls you, “Follow me,” what do you think Jesus wants you to do? How do you intend to follow?
Take time this week to pray about these questions. Jesus is not looking for Facebook friends. He is looking for real ones. May our celebration of the Eucharist today be our way of beginning our response to Jesus. Amen.
Fr. Satish Joseph