When they had finished breakfast,
Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than
these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."
He said to him, "Feed my lambs."
A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.” JN 21:15-17
A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.” JN 21:15-17
You’re probably familiar with the
beautiful passage from John’s Gospel above.
As he sits with the risen Christ at a charcoal fire on the shores of the
Sea of Galilee, Peter has the opportunity to redeem himself for what he did the
last time we saw him at a charcoal fire. On that occasion he denied Jesus three
times: here Jesus invites Peter three times to tell Him, face to face, that he
loves Him.
The first time I read this passage in the original Greek I was intrigued
by the fact, which is not reflected in English translations, that two different
words for “love” are used. The first two
times Jesus asks, “do you love me?” he say agapais, and when Peter answers “I love you” he says philo. Now, knowing that, among Christians, the verb
agapao
came to mean all-embracing divine love, whereas philo referred to
ordinary human affection, I thought I had stumbled onto Something Big. It seems that many others have had the same
idea, because I soon learned that there has been quite a lot written on this
topic (who knew?). Scripture scholars
warn us, however, not to make too much of the different verbs. It appears that at the time John wrote his
Gospel the two verbs were used more or less interchangeably, although philo
was much more common. John, the scholars
tell us, was probably doing no more than making his language more interesting
by avoiding redundancy.
I’m not one to pick a fight with the
experts on their own turf; on the other hand, we know that John is a careful
and subtle writer, and if he were that concerned with varying his vocabulary
the prologue to his Gospel would read rather differently. In any case, even if we can’t find a Big Linguistic-Theological
Significance here, it seems to me that John is nonetheless showing us
something. Here’s what he have in the
passage: Jesus asks “do you love me?” using one verb, Peter replies that he does
using what appears to be a synonym; then they repeat, each using the same verbs
they used before; finally, as Peter grows visibly distressed that Jesus feels
the need to repeat the question (but knowing all too well why he should), Jesus
asks a third time, only this time He uses Peter’s word.
I think we can see in this a reflection
of how Grace works in our life. Christ
comes to Peter, who does not at first recognize Him; after Peter realizes with
whom he’s talking, Christ invites him to express his love, and in so doing
repudiate his earlier sin; Peter is willing, but can’t quite bring himself to
use the same word that Jesus uses, instead replying with a (possibly more
humble) synonym; Jesus finally moves a little closer and uses Peter’s word when
He asks him the third time. And every
time Peter proclaims his love, Christ calls on him to share that love with
others (“feed my sheep”). Just so, God
is always the initiator, inviting us to share His grace; He often comes to us
in a tangible form (the Incarnation, the Eucharist, his ordained ministers
acting In Persona Christi); He calls on us us to act out the love we
proclaim (audible confession, acts of mercy, evangelization). And He’s always
willing to move a little closer, if it will bring us closer to Him.
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