John 21:17; "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."
By REV. FR. PAUL ANIGBORO
In today's Gospel story, three times Jesus asks Peter to confess his love; three times, Jesus commissions him to become a shepherd to continue the ministry of the Good Shepherd. In scripture, anything spoken three times means "to the utmost" (like "good, better, best"). When Peter denied Jesus three times, he rejected Jesus to the utmost. Jesus knew this and, with utmost compassion, gave Peter a complete healing from that break in their relationship by offering him the opportunity to confess his love to the utmost.
Jesus does the same for you and me. Any time we deny, reject, or hurt anyone, we are doing this to Jesus (see Matt. 25:31-46). But because of his great mercy and compassion for us, he always (to the utmost) gives us opportunities to heal the break in our relationship with him. And then, just like he did for Saint Peter, he gives us the mission of taking his love to others. We must do everything reasonably possible to reconcile with others, and after we've made amends, or if we have no opportunity to heal a broken relationship, Jesus gives us a ministry of healing on a wider scale, to other people and this helps expiate our sins, purifies our growth, and heals many who are waiting for God's help.
May the Holy Spirit, whose fullness on earth we celebrate this weekend, empower us to do awesome works for the kingdom of God. Amen!
Good morning and do have a wonderful weekend. God loves you.
© 2024 - Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan