Do You Love Me?

In today’s Gospel, John 21: 15-19, Jesus meets his disciples on the shore of Tiberius.  Things had, supposedly settled down! Yes, Jesus has appeared to some of them a few times after the resurrection and they knew that He would soon be leaving them. It had to be a depressing time for them. What were they to do when Jesus actually left them and returned to His Father. Simon says: “I’m  going fishing” and several of his companions join him. What else is there to do? The simplest choice was to go fishing, something with which they were very familiar and enjoyed.  It could be a distraction from the depressing situation in which they found themselves.

You and I  certainly can identify.  There have  been many down times in our lives  when we have  chosen to do the familiar, that which would distract us from “What do I do now? I feel depressed, uncomfortable. I need to get away from it all.”  We may have not gone fishing but resorted to that most familiar to us, that which would turn our attention away from the stresses of life for a while.
Jesus meets the disciples at the end of that fishing trip, prepares breakfast for them and then has a conversation with Simon Peter in which He asks Him three times: “Do you love me?” Remember,  Peter denied Jesus three times and He is gently reminding Him and challenging Him to think about his relationship with Jesus. Does Peter  really love Jesus?  Jesus does not give up on Peter. He remains committed to His request that Peter head the Church. Peter’s failures do not deter Jesus’ resolve.  No matter how many times we deny Jesus in a given day—giving in to temptation and not following the Spirit’s lead—Jesus does not give up on us either. He remains firm in His asking us to love Him, to be His hands and heart and feet in the service of others, in fulfilling the purpose for which we were created: to glorify the Lord God by our lives.

A choice: Focusing on other's faults or transforming one's own

This morning I meditated on today's Gospel (Lk 6. 39-42). Last night when the sisters I live with shared faith based on their reflections of this passage, I was touched by the opening phrase another emphasized: "Can a blind person guide a blind person?" All of a sudden I realized that the statements that follow this describe how I become blind, that is, when I am focusing or obsessing about the mistakes others are making, or I think they are making, complaining about their weaknesses, I am then actually blinded--that plank in my eyes fogs my vision of what God asks of me. While criticizing others, I am not engaging in constructive behaviors/attitudes that will make a difference today in building a Kingdom of peace and justice and love by what I do or say or leave undone or unsaid.  I cannot serve that part of me tearing others down and also serve that part of me called to build the Kingdom.  I cannot simultaneously follow good spirits while serving evil spirits.