May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
It was a simple and direct conversation, and it had
consequences. Peter, do you love me? Lord you know that I love you. Feed my lambs.
Peter, do you love me? Lord you know that I love you. Tend my sheep.
Peter, do you love me?
Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Feed my sheep.
Love has consequences.
For the disciples in our reading from the book of Acts, the
love that they professed for the Lord Jesus had consequences. Their love for the Lord Jesus led them to be
arrested, imprisoned, and ordered by the authorities not to speak in the name
of Jesus. The disciples were even filled
with joy because they had been found worthy to suffer for the sake of the name. The consequence of their love for Christ was
persecution and suffering.
In our reading from the book of Revelation, we encounter the splendor
of heavenly worship. The choirs of
angels, and the martyrs, and every creature in heaven and on earth are impelled
by their love for God to praise his glory and fall down in worship. They cry out, “Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and
blessing.” The consequence of their love
is humble worship and adoration.
And then, there is Simon Peter. Love has consequences for him as well. After a life spent fishing on the water,
Simon the Fisherman would now become Peter the Shepherd. He had said to the Lord Jesus when they first
met, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.”
At the Last Supper, Peter had promised the Lord Jesus, that even if the
others abandoned him, that Peter would lay down his life with the Lord. And yet, only hours later, before the cock
crowed, Peter denied the Lord three times.
Today we hear the beautiful example of the Lord’s forgiveness and
restoration. Three times Peter denied
him. Now, three times the Lord invited
his profession of love. And each time
that Peter declared his love for the Lord Jesus, the response came: Feed and
tend my sheep. Peter’s love for the Lord
Jesus had consequences.
And, dear brothers and sisters, the love that we profess for
the Lord has consequences too. We are
called to walk in love as Christ loved us.
We are invited to be a loving offering to the Loving Father. Our lofty vocation is to be a living
sacrifice of praise, a witness to the glory that is to be revealed, and a sign
of Christ’s love. That is our baptismal
call. And all of us, like those early
disciples in the book of Acts, will be rejected and suffer as we bear witness
to the love of Christ. Whether it is a
culture that mocks us, or family and friends who reject us, we ask the Lord
Jesus to help us to be joyful as we suffer for the sake of the name. Today, we come to this Church, and we join
with the saints and angels of heaven and offer our humble worship and
adoration. Our love for the Lord Jesus
has consequences.
But more importantly, dear brothers and sisters, the love
that God has for us has consequences. We
were created from the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We were made in the very image and likeness
of our creator. And though we had fallen
into sin, the Father sent the Son to be our Redeemer. The Lord Jesus showed us how to live and how
to love. He offered himself on a
cross. He forgave Peter and he offers
forgiveness to us as well.
As he fed the disciples on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias,
each day he is made present on the Altar to feed us and to strengthen us. The love that the Father has for us, shown to
us in the Lord Jesus, offers us forgiveness, strength and eternal life. As we join in the worship of heaven let us ask
for the grace to fearlessly profess our love for the Lord. Let us recognize and embrace the consequences of
our love for the Lord, and the consequences of the Lord’s love for us. And let us listen carefully, and hear the voice
of the Lord that says to each of us, “My child, you know that I love you.” Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
Church, Monroe, NC
