SUNDAY, THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
Acts 5: 27-32, 40-41 Ps 30: 2,4-6,11-13 Rv 5: 11-14 Jn 21: 1-19
AN OBEDIENCE OF LOVE
The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states the foundations upon which the Christian lifestyle is based. To the question, ‘Why did God create us?’ the Catechism answers: ‘To know Him, to love Him, to serve Him, and to be with Him in eternity.’ Only when we have an in-depth, experiential knowledge of someone are we capable of loving that person. Only when we are able to love someone completely can we truly give our heart and soul in serving them. And finally, only when we are love someone intensely and serve them wholeheartedly does our deepest desire mature into being with that person at all times, so that we may know, love, and serve them even more.
The Resurrection of Jesus is one such personal experience in the life of a Christian – a collective experience as a community of believers, given through divine revelation, and a personal experience granted to each individual through actual grace. It is the experience of the Risen Lord in each of us that enables us to respond with courage (a gift of the Holy Spirit) when the truths of our faith are challenged, as Peter did to the high priest in the first reading: “We must obey God rather than men.” This courage arises from the experiential knowledge accumulated through one’s personal encounter with the Risen Lord, as John expresses in his first letter: “What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it and declare to you….” This experiential knowledge of the Risen Lord not only deepens a person’s conviction regarding the truths in question – that He is risen and alive – but also gives them the courage to proclaim that truth in any public place, regardless of who is listening or to whom it is addressed.
Moreover, standing for what we believe comes with a condition: to love him with a love that is exclusive and unconditional – exclusive in that God cannot be one among many loves; and unconditional in its cost, even to the point of death. Peter was asked by Jesus three times: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” The phrase “love me” in the Greek language, ‘agapas me’ says it all. It means, ‘Do you love me at the cost of your life? Are you ready to love me by surrendering your life for me?’ Just as this question led Peter to total surrender to the love of God, it should also lead each of us to surrender ourselves in obedience to what we have experienced in the knowledge of the Risen Lord. Secondly, Peter was asked: “Do you love me more than these?” The phrase “more than these” may imply three things: more than everything on this earth, more than one’s love for his/her own loved ones, or more than the love others have for the Lord. In all three cases, the implication is a simple truth: our love for the Lord should be exclusive because the Resurrection experience given to us is exclusive and calls us to love Him exclusively.
This exclusive and committed love for the Risen Lord demands total abandonment of oneself to the command of the Lord and His love for us. Despite Peter’s experience of catching no fish all night, he was told to cast the net solely by faith in the word of the Lord. Remember, when we love someone deeply, we do not question their authenticity but believe in them. Similarly, when the Lord commands, we do not question His authenticity, for we know in love that what He says is true. Obedience, therefore, becomes an expression of one’s complete adherence to service in love.
Hence, the questions laid before us today are simple: Do you have a personal experience of the Risen Lord in your life? As a result of this experience, are you ready to surrender yourself in His service, even at the cost of your life; even when it goes against your own past experiences? A positive answer to these questions will lead us to a better understanding of our faith and its practice. More importantly though it will deepen our relationship with the Risen Lord Himself.
Response: I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up.
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