Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Acts of the Apostle: Chapter 25: 13b – 21
Psalm 103: 1-2, 11-12, 19-20a,b
John 21 15-10

In today’s readings we continue to learn about the early church and the timelessness of these lessons for us as descendants of the Apostles.

The first reading describes how Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem for testifying to Jesus’ Resurrection to the authorities, serves as amusing dinner conversation for Festus, the Roman governor, and his guests, King Agrippa and wife, Bernice. Festus does not know how to settle this case since he views it as a Jewish religious dispute. He is happy when he is relieved of making a decision by Paul’s appeal to the emperor. Paul will be dispatched to Rome where he will plead his case in front of the ancient world’s highest temporal authority. With the benefit of historical perspective, we all know that this will eventually lead to Paul’s death but the consequence will be that Christianity will become firmly rooted in Rome, the center of the world at that time, and eventually spread throughout the Roman Empire.

In the Gospel, we have the post Resurrection passage of Jesus gathering with a select group of His apostles and engaging in an intimate conversation with His hand- picked earthly successor Peter. He asks Peter thrice if Peter loves Him and Peter replies that He does. Jesus’ response each time is to feed His lambs or sheep. The first two inquiries Our Lord directs to Peter use the Greek verb agape, which means total love to the point of sacrificing your life. Since Peter has not yet been strengthened by the Holy Spirit he responds with the verb philios, which is rendered as brotherly love. Jesus realizes that at this point Peter can not give more than this and meets him where his level of dedication to the apostolic mission is at, by also responding with philios at the third inquiry. Jesus warns Peter that the price of fulfilling the mission of spreading God’s kingdom, the love Jesus has come to initiate, will be his life. The parallel between Paul and Peter’s ultimate sacrifice is obvious.

These reading raise some disturbing questions. The response to the Psalm proclaims, “The Lord has established his throne in heaven”. Will God’s plan demand my life as a sacrifice to further His kingdom of heaven in our earthly existence? I pray that the Holy Spirit will give me the courage to do His will.

Barbara Grau