LM Nguyễn Trung Tây - LOVE in John 21:1-19
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| Jafeth Thomas |
LOVE in John 21:1-19
Love, LOVE a simple word, consists of only four letters, pronounced with one syllable since the e is silent, and yet by nature requires the passionate characteristic.
Love will not last if that love is lukewarm! Sorry to say that! Either we love passionately or we don’t. There is no medium, mediocre or in between when coming to the hot topic: love. Ardent love or passionate love is what I am talking about…
That’s why, by the sea of Tiberias, in the early morning, after preparing breakfast for his dear disciples and enjoying the meal with them, Jesus suddenly raises his voice three times , “Simon, do you love me?”. He posed this question to the disciple, who once in the courtyard and in front of insignificant people (one of them was actually a servant, a voiceless figure in society) denied three times his relationship with the master for whom he once left everything behind...
Some friends say, “I’m confused. Why is there a need, an urge for posing such a question three times?”.
I say, “Well, who else but Jesus alone would have the answer to such a question…”
I suspect, perhaps because of the passionate love, Jesus asks Peter three times… If Peter does not love Jesus passionately, he can never be willing to die for Jesus’ sheep. So, three times the Lord asks, “Do you love me passionately?” three times Jesus assigns Peter the mission assignment, “Take care of my sheep, the sheep that I died for and have redeemed through my own blood.”
(Writings of A Mendicant Monk, Van Hoc Press, 2022)
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