Acts 5:27-32, 40-41; Rev 5:11-14; Jn 21:1-19
The
risen Lord asked Simon Peter “Do you love me more than these?” Peter replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I
love you.” When Jesus repeated the question two more times, the disciple was
hurt but continued to say, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Ordinarily,
commentators would say that Jesus asked Peter the same question three times in
order to give the latter a chance to redeem himself. Peter was challenged to
commit himself again to the Lord the same number of times he denied him.
Some
scholars, however, have another way of explaining why the risen Lord had to
repeat the question “Do you love me” to Peter. They explain that in Greek,
there are various words for the English word “love”. One is philia, which is a devotional kind of
love. An example of philia is the
admiration that we have for significant people in our lives such as our
parents, siblings, friends and teachers. Another Greek word for love is agape, which is a self-sacrificing and
unconditional type of love. We have agape
when we love a person without conditions or selfish interests. Likewise, our
love is agapaic when we show readiness to lose one’s life for the sake of the
beloved.
The
question “Do you love me” was asked three times because Peter did not respond
fully well. In the original text, the risen Lord asked Peter, “Agapas me?” or “Do you have agape love
for me?” He wanted to know whether or not Peter would love him without
reservation or would be willing to sacrifice his life for him. But Peter simply
answered, “Philo se” or “Yes, Lord, I
have philia love for you.” He was declaring great devotion for the Lord, but he
couldn’t promise him heroic love. After his notorious denial of Jesus during
the trial in Jerusalem, Peter could no longer say, “Lord, I will die for you.”
The
risen Lord was hoping that Peter would change his mind and so he asked him a
second time, “Agapas me?” But again
the disciple said he only have philia love for the Lord. Not wanting to
humiliate Peter, Jesus finally asked him, “Phileis me?” or “Do you have
philia love for me?” And Peter replied, “Philo
se” or “Yes, I have philia love for you.” In the end, the risen Lord went
down to the level of Peter and accepted what he can commit at the moment.
Nonetheless, he prophesied that the disciple would develop an agapaic love and
would one day give his life for him.
We
know that the prophecy concerning Peter was proven true. The first reading
narrates how Peter and the other apostles faced courageously the persecutions
directed to them by the Jewish authorities. Repeatedly, they were strictly
forbidden to preach about the risen Christ and to teach in his name. But Peter
and company were determined to obey God, not any human authority (Acts 5:29).
They were imprisoned and fiercely whipped, but “they rejoiced that they were
considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of Jesus” (Acts 5:41).
Tradition holds that all apostles of Jesus, except John the beloved, suffered
and died as martyrs. Peter himself was crucified upside down. He did not only
feed Jesus’ flock; he gave his life for them.
During
the season of Easter, the question of Jesus “Do you have agape love for me?” is
directed personally to each one of us. The Lord would like to know whether or
not we love him selflessly and unceasingly. It is nice to be with Jesus when
everything is going fine, when life is comfortable, or when fortunes and
blessings keep coming. But what happens when our faith is tested, when our Christian
life is becoming rough, or when persecutions come our way? Like Peter, we might
find it difficult to promise the Lord agape love. Even so, Jesus remains
confident that sooner or later we would develop the same kind of love that
finally led the apostles to give their life totally for the service God.
It was a Sunday morning in South
America, in a little chapel on the border of Venezuela and Colombia. As Mass
was beginning, not uncommon occurrence took place: a band of guerillas armed
with machine guns came out of the jungle and crashed and banged their way into
the chapel. The priest and the congregation were totally horrified and afraid.
The men dragged the priest outside to be executed. Then the leader of the
guerillas came back into the chapel and demanded, “Anyone else who believes in
this God stuff, come forward!” Everyone was petrified. They stood frozen. There
was a long silence.
Finally, one man came forward and stood
in front of the guerilla chief and said simply, “I love Jesus.” And he was roughly
tossed to the soldiers and also taken out to be executed. And several other
Christians came forward saying the same thing; they, too, were driven outside.
Then the sound of machine gun fire. When there were no more people left willing
to identify themselves as Christians, the guerilla chief returned inside and
told the remaining congregation to get out. “You have no right to be here!” And
with that he herded them out of the chapel, where they were astonished to see
their pastor and the others standing there.
The priest and those people were ordered
to go back into the chapel to continue the service while the others were
angrily warned to stay out “Until,” said the guerilla chief, “You have the
courage to stand up for your beliefs!” and with that the guerillas disappeared
into the jungle. (The
story is by William J. Bausch in A World of Stories for Preachers
and Teachers)
