© Tutye 2001
Third Sunday of Easter
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Lectionary C
John 21:1-19
As a child, do you remember picking a daisy and removing one petal at a time and saying, “He (she) loves me, loves me not, loves me, loves me not …” and you hope the final petal is “loves me”? Or your young child or grandchild will try to outdo you when you tell them you love them, and they will respond, “I love you more,” and this back-and-forth banter can continue indefinitely!
Remember one of the first hymns many of us learned and sang as a child – “Jesus Love Me”? Take a moment and google the full lyrics and take a trip down memory lane, embracing the meaning, and sing out loud, “making a joyful noise to the Lord!”
This Scripture details the first conversation Jesus had with Peter after His resurrection. Prior to that, the last conversation Jesus had with Peter was just before His arrest to be crucified. Following the Last Supper, Jesus had told His disciples they would abandon Him, and told Peter that before the cock crows twice, Peter would deny Jesus three times. However, Peter was adamant that he would not desert Jesus, nor deny him, even if he had to die. “And all of them said the same.” (Mark 14:31b NRSV)
In this gospel, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” No doubt, Peter remembered his own vow of not long ago, his denial of Christ three times, his realization and remorse when the cock crowed, and the burden of guilt Peter must have felt. The fact that Jesus asked the same question three times indicates how much Jesus wanted to have a loving relationship with Peter and how much He loved him, despite his denial. Each time when Peter affirmed his love for Him, then Jesus commanded him to “feed my sheep.”
If Jesus were to appear before any of us today and ask, “Do you love me?”, I’m sure we would all say, “Yes, I do, Lord.” (But) what does loving Jesus look like to you? Does your daily life mirror His love and compassion? Do you “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven?” (Matthew 5:16). Is your life a testament as to how the nail-scarred hands of our risen Lord can heal the visible and invisible, physical and emotional scars of sin, loneliness, grief, abuse, addiction, trauma, and pain? Have you ever deserted or denied Him, and 
have you confessed your transgressions and repented? Do you forgive others as He has forgiven you? Do you love your neighbor as yourself?
Without a doubt, He loves me. “We love because He first loved us” (I John 4:19). “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son” (John 3:16a). “Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so” (Bradbury). Do you love Him? Are you feeding His sheep?
– The Rev. Kay Mueller is deacon of Church of Our Saviour in Okeechobee.