“Jesus said to him…‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’” – John 21:16
The same question that Jesus asked Simon Peter He also asks each one of us: “Do you love me?”
It is easy to balk at that question and answer like Peter did, “Of course I love you.”
But, do we? Do we really love Him?
He undoubtedly loves us. The Cross is enough proof of that. However, a relationship of true love is a two-way street. He asks us, just as He asked Peter, to show Him our love. “Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my lambs.”
What have you done lately to love Jesus?
After Peter and the other Apostles had encountered the Risen Lord and received the Holy Spirit, they went out proclaiming the Good News and healing the sick in the Name of Jesus. As we hear in Acts 5:12-15:
"A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured. Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles…Thus [people] even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them."
By the grace of baptism and the virtue of God’s love living in us, we also have the capacity to bring glad tidings to the poor. By loving one another we can truly heal the sick and set the prisoner free. By loving one another, especially those who are impoverished and vulnerable, we do love Jesus.
Later on in the book of Acts, as the First Reading for this Sunday informs us, the apostles’ love for Jesus and their neighbors eventually got them into trouble with the authorities:
“After recalling the apostles, they had them flogged, ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them. So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name (5:40-42).”
As we can see, not only did the apostles spend their lives for Christ by serving the poor, they also showed their love for Jesus by suffering for His Name. Interestingly enough, this brought them great joy. That is the beauty of God’s love – it makes sacrifice sweet and raises the dead to new life.
Merciful Father, strengthen us in our service to others and give us the courage to suffer for the glory of Your Name. Amen.