20240517 LOVE AS THE BASIS FOR FOLLOWING THE LORD
17 May 2024, Friday, 7th Week of Eastertide
First reading | Acts 25:13-21 © |
'I ordered Paul to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar'
King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus. Their visit lasted several days, and Festus put Paul’s case before the king. ‘There is a man here’ he said ‘whom Felix left behind in custody, and while I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the Jews laid information against him, demanding his condemnation. But I told them that Romans are not in the habit of surrendering any man, until the accused confronts his accusers and is given an opportunity to defend himself against the charge. So they came here with me, and I wasted no time but took my seat on the tribunal the very next day and had the man brought in. When confronted with him, his accusers did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected; but they had some argument or other with him about their own religion and about a dead man called Jesus whom Paul alleged to be alive. Not feeling qualified to deal with questions of this sort, I asked him if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there on this issue. But Paul put in an appeal for his case to be reserved for the judgement of the august emperor, so I ordered him to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 102(103):1-2,11-12,19-20 © |
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord has set his sway in heaven
and his kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,
mighty in power, fulfilling his word.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:26 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 21:15-19 © |
Feed my lambs, feed my sheep
Jesus showed himself to his disciples, and after they had eaten he said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
‘I tell you most solemnly,
when you were young
you put on your own belt
and walked where you liked;
but when you grow old
you will stretch out your hands,
and somebody else will put a belt round you
and take you where you would rather not go.’
In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’
LOVE AS THE BASIS FOR FOLLOWING THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 25:13-21; PS 103:1-2,11-12,19-20; JN 21:15-19]
In today’s gospel, Jesus commanded Peter to “follow me.” The call to follow Jesus involves a few preparatory stages. Many people are quick to want to follow Jesus but they do not know the implications. The call to St Peter contrasts with those disciples who wanted to follow Jesus earlier in the gospel. One said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Lk 9:57-62) All these would-be disciples put conditions for following Jesus. The truth is that for Jesus, there can be no conditions on our part if we want to follow Him. We must follow Him freely and joyfully. How then is this possible?
Firstly, to follow Jesus, we must remove every form of barrier in our relationship with Him. Before Jesus called Peter, He helped him remove the barrier of shame and guilt for betraying Him earlier. It was important that Peter start with a clean slate, knowing that the Lord had forgiven Him completely and was not holding anything against him. By starting all over again, the Lord did not address him as Peter, the Rock, since he failed to live up to his name. Rather, He called him, “‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?” On his own, Simon would not have been able to be the leader that Jesus expected of him. It was for this reason that Peter could only say that he loved Jesus with a human love, not yet with divine love, in answer to the triple-question of love that Jesus put to him. The word used for ‘love’, both in Jesus’ question, and in Peter’s answers, switches between agape and philo. Peter had learnt his lesson. Earlier on, he was boastful when he told the Lord, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.” (Mt 26:33) On his own capacity, he could not do more than loving Jesus with his limited love. However, if Peter were to entrust Himself to the Lord, it would be as Peter, the Rock on which Jesus would establish his Church. So the power to follow the Lord involved undoing his three denials with three affirmations of his love and loyalty to the Lord. Until he was healed of his pride and ego, he was not yet ready to serve the Lord.
So, too, for us all. When we want to serve the Lord, loving with our limited love alone will not carry us very far. When we seek to serve Him with our pride and ego and relying on our own strength, we become ambitious, competitive and even envious of others who do better than us. We will only transfer the pursuits of the worldly realm into the spiritual world. We need the love of God in us. We need His Holy Spirit; whose feast we will celebrate this Sunday at Pentecost. Without the infilling of His Spirit, our love would be very limited. But with the Spirit of love in us, we can do much more than we can imagine, as Jesus promised His disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Without holiness, we cannot make ourselves available to serve the Lord. A real relationship with Jesus can only begin when we repent of our sins (Acts 2:37f) Unless we give up all that grieves the Holy Spirit, we cannot be powerful witnesses of our Lord. Constantly, when we are in ministry, or at the beginning of Christian life, we must go for regular confession. Unless we are conscious of our failures, our deep-seated envy, pride and shame, He cannot renew and empower us for His service. Failure is never the last word. Like Peter, we must constantly return to the Lord to seek forgiveness and healing. As we preach forgiveness, we too must always be ready to receive forgiveness and to forgive.
Secondly, following Jesus entails a personal commitment, not just to Him but to His Church. After Peter was restored and recommissioned, he was asked to take care and feed His sheep. Following Jesus means to take responsibility for caring for the flock of God. Love is more than just a nice feeling. It is a commitment to Christ and His Church. Being committed to Christ is to be at the same time, committed to His body, the Church. We cannot say we love Jesus but we do not care for His Church. There is a serious danger today among many Christians who claim that they love Jesus but they do not belong to any denomination. They love Jesus and are inspired by His life, but they pick and choose those things that they like about Jesus. For them, faith is but a romantic relationship with the Lord. It is not about a lived commitment to the gospel way of life; much less service and commitment to His Church. Jesus loves His Church regardless whether we are sinners or otherwise. As St Paul wrote, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind – yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:25-27) So, to love Christ means to take care and feed His sheep.
Thirdly, following Jesus is to carry the cross with Him. In the gospel, Jesus told His disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” (Mt 16:24-26) Peter, having accepted the commission of Jesus, was told in no uncertain terms what lay ahead of him. Jesus prepared him for his eventual crucifixion. He would serve the Lord into an old age, but he would share His crucifixion. The Lord said, “I tell you most solemnly, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.’ In these words, he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.'” Truly, the road to discipleship is the way of the cross. In the first reading, we read the trials that Paul had to undergo to testify to the Risen Lord. He was persecuted, threatened, and eventually also put to death. The Christian life of service and leadership requires continued mortifications and sacrifices, always dying to self-will and doing the will of God. Well, this is the only way to show that we really love, not just in words but in our daily life, caring and serving in humility.
Finally, to follow the Lord presupposes that we maintain our relationship with the Lord and remain focused on doing His will. Peter was curious about the fate of John. He said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” (Jn 21:21f) We should not compare our fate or our life with others. Each one of us have a different call. Each one of us must respond to the Lord’s call according to how He has called us. The relationship between the Lord and each individual is different. What God wants us to do, what charisms He has blessed us with, the situation that He has placed us under are sacred and privy only to the Lord. It is not for us to question Him or to compare our position with others.
We just have to give full commitment to what the Lord asks of us. We are called to be in partnership with Him. For Peter, he is called to be the shepherd and the leader of the Church; for John he was called to be the seer and a mystic; for Peter he was destined to die a cruel death; for John, he lived a long life contemplating on the Lord. Peter was the foundational witness, and John, the writer of the gospel. We are all called to follow Jesus, each in our own way. No one way is better than the others. Being a bishop or a priest is not to be seen as a reward or a position of glory, or that they are better than the ordinary lay person who serves the church and his family. Our gifts and calling are different. Instead of comparing, or even envying each other’s gifts, we should give thanks to God for them and pray that we use them for the good of His church and His people. What is important is that we will use them for the greater glory of God and His church. Whatever we do, we must focus on Christ, deepen our intimacy with Him, drawing on His love so that we can love like Him.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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