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Do You Love Me?
Where We Are
Alleluia! Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter gives us one of the most tender and devastating scenes in all of Scripture. We leave the farewell discourse and move to John 21, the lakeside after the resurrection. Three times Peter denied Jesus. Now, three times Jesus asks him: "Do you love me?" Pentecost is two days away, and this restoration of Peter is the final preparation. The one who will lead the Church must first be healed. In Acts, Paul's case is presented to King Agrippa, who finds the whole matter baffling, centered on "a certain Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul asserted to be alive."
The Word
Three times Jesus asks, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Three times Peter answers yes. Three times Jesus commissions him: "Feed my lambs. Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17). Peter is grieved by the third question, not because it is cruel, but because it mirrors his threefold denial. Each question undoes one denial. Each commission rebuilds what was broken. Then Jesus reveals Peter's future: when he is old, another will lead him where he does not want to go, pointing to his eventual martyrdom. And the command that frames everything: "Follow me."
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Reflect
Peter's restoration is one of the most psychologically profound moments in the Gospels. Jesus does not pretend the denial did not happen. He does not minimize it or brush past it. Instead, he walks Peter through it, not to shame him but to heal him. Each "Do you love me?" is an invitation to tell the truth, and each "Feed my sheep" is a gift of trust.
This tells us something essential about forgiveness. God's forgiveness is not a legal pardon that ignores the wound. It is a relational restoration that addresses the wound directly, gently, and completely. Peter is not merely acquitted; he is re-commissioned. His worst moment becomes the foundation of his greatest calling.
The prophecy of Peter's death adds an unexpected dimension. Jesus does not promise Peter a comfortable life. He promises him a meaningful death. "When you are old, another will lead you where you do not want to go." Peter's following of Christ will end at a cross, just as Jesus's did. But this time, Peter will not run. The one who denied will become the one who endures.
Festus's description of Paul's case to Agrippa captures the world's bafflement at the Gospel. It all comes down to "a certain Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul asserted to be alive." The resurrection is the scandal. The whole Christian faith hangs on whether a dead man rose.
Living It
Is there a failure in your past that still haunts you? Bring it to Jesus today, as Peter brought his shame to the lakeside. Hear him ask, not with condemnation but with love: "Do you love me?" Your honest answer is enough.
Accept a new commission. God does not discard people who fail; he redirects them. Ask: "Lord, what are you calling me to do now, not despite my failures, but through them?"
Practice feeding someone today. It can be as simple as nourishing a conversation, sharing a meal, or offering encouragement. Shepherding is not just for pastors; it is for everyone who loves Jesus.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you did not abandon Peter after his denial, and you do not abandon us after ours. Ask us your question today: Do we love you? And when we answer honestly, imperfectly, give us the grace to hear your commission: Feed my sheep. Make our failures the doorway to a deeper calling. Amen.
Today's reflection draws from John 21:15-19 and Acts 25:13-21 (CPDV), per the Ordo Lectionum Missae.
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