Readings: Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41; Rev 5:11-14; Jn 21:1-19
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. Peter acknowledges his love three times and then Jesus tells him what would happen later in his life and how he would be killed. After this, Jesus simply says: “Follow Me.” St. John adds to the point of Peter’s foretold death, that Jesus said this, signifying by what kind of death Peter would glorify God.
We recall from earlier in St. John’s Gospel that Jesus, in speaking of His own coming passion and death, said it was now the hour for the Son of Man to be glorified and that God would be glorified in Him. We see in the first reading that St. Peter says God exalted Jesus at His right hand, but this glorification of Jesus is not what our Lord was speaking of when He said He would be glorified. Rather, His death on the Cross is how He was glorified.
At present, our Lord reigns in glory and, as we hear in the second reading, every creature in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth will cry out to God and to the Lamb: blessing and honor, glory and might. The reason for this is also given: the Lamb is worthy of all power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing because He was slain. Certainly, He deserves glory and honor simply because He is God, but He receives far greater honor and glory because He became man and died for us.
So, why is this the case? Because He did everything out of love for us and, in so doing, He brought about our redemption and our salvation. This is what makes the scene in the first reading so tragic, ironic, and perhaps somewhat humorous. The Apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin and questioned about their preaching. The High Priest said, “You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.” The ironic and, perhaps, humorous part is that these are the same people who, when Pilate wanted to save Jesus, cried out: “His blood be on us and on our children.”
The tragedy, on the other hand, is that if we interpret this passage in a different manner, we recognize these people are still refusing to accept that they cannot be saved unless the Blood of Jesus is upon them. You and I, sinners that we are, must accept that the Blood of Jesus is upon us, both in the sense that we are responsible for His death, and that we can only have life and salvation if we are washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb.
The connection between the earthly glory of Jesus on the Cross and the Heavenly glory He lives now is made clear by St. Peter in the first reading where he says God exalted Jesus at His right hand as leader and Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. Jesus did not come to earth only to die and then return to Heaven. On earth, Jesus was glorified in the work He did to bring about our salvation; in Heaven He is glorified in applying the fruits of that salvation to souls individually.
To be washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb is to have our sins forgiven. With our souls thus purified we are able to follow our Lord. However, following our Lord is not simply a matter of trying to live a good life, it is a matter of living a holy life. Holiness means to become like God and we become like those we associate with. In other words, we need to spend time with the Lord in prayer and we need to seek to serve Him in our daily lives.
This brings us right back to where we began with, Jesus asking Peter if he loved Him. St. Peter not only voiced his love for Jesus, but he proved it. He lived his life for our Lord, he rejoiced to be persecuted for our Lord, and he ultimately died for our Lord. Today Jesus sits down with each of us, individually, looks directly at us and asks, “Do you love me?”
We all want to say with St. Peter, “Lord, you know that I love you.” However, since Jesus is God, He would not need to ask this question if our love for Him was obvious. Peter had denied that he even knew Jesus just a few weeks prior to the encounter in the Gospel. How often do we deny Him in our words and actions? Jesus has proven His love for us and has shown us the way of love. So, if we are to answer positively to Jesus’ question about our love for Him, then He will respond: “Follow Me!”
Fr. Altier’s column appears regularly in The Wanderer, a national Catholic weekly published in St. Paul, Minn. For information about subscribing to The Wanderer, please visit www.thewandererpress.com.
