The Third Sunday of Easter, Year C

Do You Love Jesus?

Readings: Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 30:4-12; Rev 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

The common thread through the readings today is our encounter with God. How do we experience the risen Christ in our lives?

The first one, whose encounter is recalled, is Saul. We later know him as Paul. It is hard to imagine an angrier or more threatening person than he. He was very much opposed to the fledgling faith. He had the authority to persecute those who followed the risen Christ. He was single minded in his mission.

That is, until the day he was travelling to Damascus. He saw a bright light. He heard a voice. He fell to the ground. "Why are you persecuting me?" the voice demanded. He asked who it was, but in his heart he knew. As far as Saul was concerned, Jesus of Nazareth was dead. And good riddance to him! But on hearing the voice, he could not help but realize the life-bond that exists between Jesus and those who follow him.

It was a turning point for him, in Greek, μετανοια. It means literally turning around, doing an about face. We would call it conversion. There in the dust of the road, blinded by the brilliance of the light, he encountered the risen Lord. He realized how Christ identifies with us. He got up, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing for the next three days. Three days of physical blindness, but what is that after a lifetime of spiritual blindness? And it was followed by a different kind of seeing, not sight, but insight, which brought him into a new relationship with God. He began a new life of witness to the risen Christ he had so vehemently persecuted. He began to preach the word of God as strongly as he had once preached against it. He focused his anger, energy, vehemence, single-mindedness on God.

Then in the Gospel we hear of another encounter, this time between the risen Christ and Peter.

"I'm going fishing," Peter says.

"We'll go with you," say the others. Boats, nets, business as usual! Do you suppose they are trying return to normalcy, to their former way of life after the terrifying events of the past few days? Who could blame them? Yet it is not what Jesus had in mind.

They got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Not one fish all night long. Just after daybreak, they saw someone on the beach. Not that they recognized him. He told them to cast the net on the other side of the boat. What did they have to lose! They did as he had suggested. And suddenly they were swamped with fish. One hundred and fifty three of them! It was then that Peter recognized Jesus. In his excitement he jumped into the water to get to Jesus faster.

But the encounter wasn't over. In fact, the real encounter had not yet begun. Peter was not ready to take on the responsibility of carrying on Jesus' work. He was still reeling from the events of the past few days. He had betrayed Jesus. He had run away. What's more, there was some unfinished business. There was an unfinished conversation.

Jesus had not forgotten. He picked up the conversation just where he had left off. "Do you love me, Peter?" It must have startled him.

"You know I do."

"Then feed my sheep," Jesus tells him. Then he asks him again. Is this some kind of bad dream? And then a third time Jesus asks him the same question. And finally it sinks in to Peter's brain. What has held him back from following Jesus to the cross? If he loves Jesus, then of course it follows. He must feed the sheep. He must continue the work that Jesus began. It must not come to an end. The work, he began to realize was just beginning.

All of the stories are about turning points. We all have them. When I was making a big change in my life, preparing to leave teaching and go back to school to study theology, a good friend gave me a lovely gift, a beautiful cut glass swan. “You need markers to help remember the important times in your life,” she told me. It was a wonderful thing for her to do, but I couldn’t help reflecting on my own that I already had markers in my life. There was my baptism when my parents and sponsors made promises for me. The sign of the cross left its mark on my forehead. Water and light became symbols of my emerging faith.

Then at Confirmation I undertook those promises for myself. The laying on of hands by the Bishop imprinted that faith in my life.

Then there are the times in my life when I recognized the risen Christ. For me, there was no earth shattering, transformative moment. Instead there were constant turning points, aha moments, when I grew in faith.

If we look back at our lives we can all find such turning points, such markers. They may not be life shattering. They may not even seem important now. We may feel almost embarrassed about them. But they are important, for they are spiritual landmarks that set us apart as Christians. They mark our lives. They help us to frame our life of faith. Sometimes we experience one powerful event, which changes us dramatically. More often, it is a series of events, some that we scarcely remember. Both experiences of conversion are authentic. Both experiences are part of our life journey.

What does it mean to be a Christian? It is important to find opportunities to explore and witness to how Christ is working in our lives. It is important to witness to the power of the resurrection. We all have faith stories. They are important in our lives. They emerge out of our every day experiences. Because they are so personal, it is a real privilege to be invited to share in the stories of other people. We need to hear how others have struggled with faith. For it is part of our Christian journey. It is part of our communal experience.

For all of us it was a journey, and what we most needed on that journey was the companionship of other people. We needed that sense of community. It is most likely why you stay connected to this community of faith.

“Do you love me? Jesus asked Peter. He asks that same question of you and me. How do we answer it? We may identify with Paul whose encounter on the Damascus Road was earth shattering. Or we may identify with Peter's slow and steady response. But our experience is unlikely to be like any other. It doesn't need to be as long as our response is the same. Paul encountered Christ and went on to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Peter became the rock on which the Church was built. The disciples got up from breakfast and began spread the gospel. The heart of the matter lies in our response to that eternal question, "Do you love me?" For if you love Jesus then you must feed the sheep.