Feed My Sheep

Dear Friend,

Reflecting on this Sunday’s Gospel, Father Jude Siciliano points to the connection between the conversation of Jesus and Peter by the seashore and the “conversation” of our liturgy each Sunday. Three times Jesus asks Peter Do you love me? and three times Peter responds. Three times we repeat “Lord, have mercy” as we begin our spiritual banquet each Sunday. As with Peter, Jesus feeds us, even as we recall our failed attempts to love. Not letting us get stuck, Jesus invites us again to be fed and then to feed others: Feed my sheep.

In both cases - in ours and Peter’s - the summons from Jesus, especially in the Easter season, is a summons into the mystery of an ongoing, ever-sounding call to come out of ourselves and into the wider circle of care and compassion. “Shall the primary purpose of Christian education be to hand on a religion or to create a new world?” This was the way George Albert Coe phrased the question many years ago.

Peter’s conversion led him as a student/disciple of Jesus from the seaside to the Sanhedrin where he boldly proclaimed his love for the Lord, as we hear in the second reading. For Peter and for all of us, this process has been described as “a change from relating to Christ as historical figure to Christ as Risen Lord; a change from relating to church as institution to church as community; a movement from focusing on personal salvation to participating in Christian mission in the world.” (James Dunning, “Echoing God’s Word”, p. 56)

Our Easter journey, like our Lenten journey, is moving us to new life. It starts with “Lord, have mercy” and moves to a great AMEN to what God has done for us. We are fed and we are sent. 

Gratefully,

Fr. Dan ofm