Memorial Of St. Philip Neri

Acts 25:13-21
John 21:15-19

DO YOU LOVE ME?

Three times in today’s gospel, Jesus asks Peter ‘Do you love me’; three times, following Peter’s ‘Yes, Lord’ Jesus commands ‘Feed my sheep’.
We can make a connection to the three times that Peter denied Him around the charcoal fire.  We could perhaps connect it to the Holy Trinity.  Perhaps the significance of three times is found in faceted dimensions of what it means to ‘feed’. The passage concludes with a final command Follow me. 

Could this sharing with Peter have been more for our benefit than his? How do we respond when we hear the question ‘do you love me?’  How do we feed His sheep? How do we help another grow in their understanding of Jesus and his words?  How do we help another grow in their desire to turn toward God for inner strength?  How do we nurture another to grow in their awareness that they belong to God?  How do we lead Jesus’ sheep to a deeper relationship with God?

To feed means more than simply providing food.  It means planning, preparing, serving; it means nurturing, companioning, challenging; it means modeling, leading, guiding; to feed is to take care of needs.  To feed is to give others what they need to help them grow – not just physically, but what they need to grow in ‘wisdom and grace’.

Fr Joseph Osho