Do You Love Me?

Gospel: John 21: 15-19

Consider all the many failings of Peter up to this point: he has denied the Lord three times; he has not believed the women or Emmaus disciples about the resurrection of Jesus; he had sank in the sea for his lack of faith and called a Satan by the Lord himself for rejecting the idea of Jesus' death and resurrection.  So now he is alone with the Lord, fully expecting rebuke and condemnation, and yet Jesus merely asks him three times - do you love me - and three times the encouragement to care for the flock.  

In a similar way Paul, our other saint of the day, had made a career and name for himself in persecuting the early church. He presided over the execution of Stephen and was going from town to town arresting Christians.  His encounter with the Lord on his way to Damascus is equally dramatic.  Jesus, too asks him a question - why are you persecuting me - and this impels him to a complete change of life in becoming a great bearer of the Gospel message.  

The Lord confronts each one of us with similar questions and challenges.  Do we love the Lord? Then we must show it in caring for others, in healing, liberating, and feeding them.  Have we persecuted the Lord in maligning immigrants, migrants, refugees, the poor and marginalized? Then we must cease this behavior and embrace the call to follow Jesus in caring for all people all the time.  Today's feast is a reminder that these questions and calls are for us as well.