Spiritual Corner -- Simon, Son of John, Do You Love Me More Than These?

In our faith life, sometimes it is easy to forgive others, but difficult to forgive ourselves, to reconcile with our past, and we may even continuously feel much compunction and self-accusation. The passage from the Gospel of John, 21:15-19 which related to how Jesus appeared to the apostles after his resurrection and asked Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” is a good piece of healing material, in particular for healing compunction, self-accusation and the shameful heart. We all know that Peter was the head of the apostles. At the Last Supper, under the watchful eyes of all the apostles, Peter showed how ready he was to die for Jesus, yet ultimately denied Jesus three times. His denials remained the stain in his life. Peter felt so shameful in his heart, especially when he stood in front of the other apostles. Nevertheless, it was under such circumstance that Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me more than these?” Every time when Jesus asked, Peter could have wanted to crawl into a hole and run away, because he was really ashamed of himself. In fact, every time when Jesus asked if he loved Him and Peter replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you”, each of his previous denials had been cured. Thus, the first step of healing is to admit our own fault, to accept our deficiency. Do not be afraid to admit our wrong deeds, because no-body is perfect, not even the great apostle---Peter. However, up till this point, the healing process is not complete yet. Right after Peter’s reply, Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Thus, Peter was truly cured in the process of accomplishing his mission, in feeding Jesus’ lambs. As he had denied Jesus first, so from then on he had to work for Lord Jesus, even to the point of sacrificing for Him. It was the mission Jesus gave to Peter that completely cured him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we still have not reconciled with our past, then let us meditate on this Gospel passage. We must first admit our faults, apologize to other people, or to make confession and accept our deficiency. Then, we may ask God what we should do to compensate for our wrong deeds. We may pray for people whom we have offended, even if that person has already passed away, or to do charitable deeds, help others and help the Church. All these can bring healing to our souls. Gradually, we can reconcile with our past. Today, I invite all of you to reflect on this dialogue: Jesus asked, “Do you love me more than these?” and Peter replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Then, Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Yours,
Fr. John Wang