And Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Look after my sheep.”
And a third time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was saddened because Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said, “Lord,
you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus then said, “Feed my sheep! Truly, I say to you, when you were young, you put on your belt and walked where you liked.
But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will put a belt around you, and lead you where you do not wish to go.”
Jesus said this to make known the kind of death by which Peter was to glorify God. And he added, “Follow me!”
REFLECTION:
There is so much power, beauty, but also poignancy in today’s readings. Paul is about to face martyrdom,
and Peter is given the task of caring for the flock Jesus is about to leave behind. These men,
giants of the early Church, builders of the early Christian community that continues to this day,
were about to face the same struggles, challenges, difficulties, pains and suffering that their master had suffered.
And while there is a tinge of sadness that is detectable in the readings,
there is also the power of Christ’s enduring presence in the lives of these men.
St. Augustine says that nothing in this life is perfect,
and that even the most beautiful experiences we have are always tinged with sadness,
suffering and pain. And yet for the Christian, the knowledge that his Savior lives,
and that this too is the destiny that awaits him, is more than enough
to transform the deepest of sorrows into the greatest of joys.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020