Christ Charges Peter . . . The Rock of the Church
Fr. Hugh Gillespie, SMM
Christ Charges Peter
In today’s Gospel there is more than one fishing expedition.
It is important for our own spirituality to understand that. We hear that St. Peter and the other disciples went fishing and caught nothing all night. As light was starting to shine, Jesus was on the shoreline. He said to the disciples, cast your nets over the right side of the boat. They did and ultimately caught 153 large fish.
This is the lesser of the two fishing expeditions. A long night that produced nothing. This might sound very familiar for us all! In our own prayer, as we cast out our own nets of faith and devotion, often we are in the dark and come up . . . seemingly empty. Hear more about this first fishing expedition . . . and what it means for us!
The More Important Fishing Expedition
The seconding fishing expedition . . . is really subtle. Jesus asks Peter three times . . . Do You Love Me? Many may think this is Jesus getting back at Peter for his three times denial. They are in front of a charcoal fire. There are only two charcoal fires referenced in the bible. The first, during the Passion when Peter warms himself just before denying Jesus three times.
Now we have Jesus, in front of a fire and asks Peter three times. Why? This is the second fishing expedition. We might not realize it in these terms. The questions are beautiful. Do you Love Me More Than These Others? What He is really asking . . . Are you seeking greatness in the love for Me? Do you want a love for Me beyond the ordinary? Peter responds . . . Yes, Lord I Love You. Implying I want that love to be strong. Jesus further responds . . . Feed my lambs.
A Deeper Love Not Known by Peter
Jesus asks the second question. Do You Love Me? This is not how does your love stack up against others! It is how real is your love for Me? Peter pauses. He has to look deeper into his heart. Why? At one time Peter thought his love would never fail. But during the Passion . . . it did . . . he did fail. He has to dig deeper into his heart before he responds to the Lord. Yes Lord. . . I do. Jesus responds with tend My sheep.
Now Jesus asks a third question. Do you love Me? This third question is Jesus throwing His net and Jesus is fishing. He casts the net into Peter’s heart. Hear more about this in the audio.
After the questions: Jesus says Follow Me. These are the last words to Peter. Don’t Follow Me like you used to follow me. Follow Me differently now! Again, hear what this means for us!
In the end, Jesus goes fishing with Peter . . . on the shoreline. He pulls out of Peter responses that Peter alone likely would not have achieved. He also Charges Peter with the Church.
Hear what this type of fishing means for us! Hear what Jesus charges Peter. Listen to this Meditation Media.
Editors Note: Why 153 fishes in the net? Why that number? At the time, there were 153 known countries in the world. The disciples were charged to cast their net . . . and spread the Good News to the end of the world . . . to all countries.
Christ Charges Peter . . . The Rock of the Church
