May 1, 2022: 3rd Sunday Easter C
May 1, 2022: 3rd Sunday Easter C 
Have you ever felt hurt or betrayed by a loved one that made you feel unloved? If I was abandoned after being arrested, beaten, and hung on the cross, I don’t think the first words that I would say to my friends who left me would be “Peace be with you.” Yet Jesus, who was betrayed by many of his friends, didn’t treat his disciples as strangers. Just like the prodigal son’s father, Jesus loved his friends and disciples despite their betrayal. What kind of love was Jesus showing his disciples? Mercy. Mercy is love when it encounters the poor, the weak, and the broken. Peter was one of the disciples who very much needed Jesus’ mercy. Risen Jesus was about to put Peter in charge of His flock, but first Peter needed healing from his guilt. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to Peter and the disciples in the Upper Room on Sunday evening. Jesus told them to meet him in Galilee. Peter and the band arrived in Galilee waiting for Jesus. Meanwhile, Peter decided to go fishing. Was Peter looking to catch something to eat or was something eating at him? Could it be that Peter went fishing, to get out in the water to forget his problems? What problem could Peter be dealing with? Perhaps, Peter hadn’t forgiven himself for denying Jesus three times in the high priest’s courtyard moments after telling Jesus at the Last Supper that he would always remain faithful. Peter carried deep within him the shame and the guilt of denial. Peter’s heart may have been like that of a formerly unfaithful husband who, even after repentance and forgiveness, still feels burdened by the goodness and beauty of the beloved he betrayed. So Jesus built a charcoal fire to lead Peter back to the time of his sin. Then Jesus invited Peter into a dialogue of mercy: Do you love Me? ... Yes, Lord. You know that I love you ... Then feed My sheep. Three times Jesus evoked Peter’s response of love and trust from deep within him. Later on, as we heard in the Acts of the Apostle, Peter boldly stood up in front of the highest religious authorities unafraid to preach about the Risen Jesus. The Divine Mercy that Peter received is also available to us. Whenever we fail, Jesus waits for us in the confessional, waiting to gently ask the question that matters above all else, “Do you love Me?” The temptation for us after sin or failure is to hide from God like Adam and Eve after their Fall. That tendency is prevalent among Christians as well. Some Catholics believe that God’s love must be earned by following all the rules, saying all the prayers, and giving money to the right causes. Yet when they fall, they doubt God’s love for them and keep their distance from God thereon. Like Peter, they carry deep within themselves their guilt. Externally they keep their respect for Jesus through their formal worship; however, they do not allow Jesus to have an intimate and close relationship with them. It’s a false notion that the more perfect we are, the more worthy we are to draw close to Jesus. In reality, Jesus welcomes spiritually poor, weak, and overburdened people to come as close to him with trust. Have we built hidden walls between ourselves and Jesus? Could these hidden walls be feelings of self-loathing, unworthiness, or hatred toward those who have hurt us? Jesus is saying to us today, “Do you want to be healed? Then, give me your pain. Give me your wounds. Give me your hurt. Give me your anger, your resentment, your bitterness. Give me your shame. Let me heal it. And then, come follow me.” Jesus’ instruction to Peter was clear after he restored and healed Peter from his guilt, “Feed my sheep.” The mercy we received is to be “fed” to others. “Be merciful as your Father is merciful,” Jesus said. We may forgive people after a betrayal but, with good reason, no longer fully trust them. Yet, Jesus showed Peter not only that he forgives him but that he also fully trusts him. When we forgive with mercy, we welcome back and restore friendship to those who, through their wrongs toward us, have become like strangers in our hearts. Such a difficult, yet beautiful act of mercy in fact consoles Jesus who is the Head of the Mystical Body of Christ. Imagine, imagine! We can love and console Jesus by forgiving, consoling, and assisting our neighbors!
Have you ever felt hurt or betrayed by a loved one that made you feel unloved? If I was abandoned after being arrested, beaten, and hung on the cross, I don’t think the first words that I would say to my friends who left me would be “Peace be with you.” Yet Jesus, who was betrayed by many of his friends, didn’t treat his disciples as strangers. Just like the prodigal son’s father, Jesus loved his friends and disciples despite their betrayal. What kind of love was Jesus showing his disciples? Mercy. Mercy is love when it encounters the poor, the weak, and the broken. Peter was one of the disciples who very much needed Jesus’ mercy. Risen Jesus was about to put Peter in charge of His flock, but first Peter needed healing from his guilt. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to Peter and the disciples in the Upper Room on Sunday evening. Jesus told them to meet him in Galilee. Peter and the band arrived in Galilee waiting for Jesus. Meanwhile, Peter decided to go fishing. Was Peter looking to catch something to eat or was something eating at him? Could it be that Peter went fishing, to get out in the water to forget his problems? What problem could Peter be dealing with? Perhaps, Peter hadn’t forgiven himself for denying Jesus three times in the high priest’s courtyard moments after telling Jesus at the Last Supper that he would always remain faithful. Peter carried deep within him the shame and the guilt of denial. Peter’s heart may have been like that of a formerly unfaithful husband who, even after repentance and forgiveness, still feels burdened by the goodness and beauty of the beloved he betrayed. So Jesus built a charcoal fire to lead Peter back to the time of his sin. Then Jesus invited Peter into a dialogue of mercy: Do you love Me? ... Yes, Lord. You know that I love you ... Then feed My sheep. Three times Jesus evoked Peter’s response of love and trust from deep within him. Later on, as we heard in the Acts of the Apostle, Peter boldly stood up in front of the highest religious authorities unafraid to preach about the Risen Jesus. The Divine Mercy that Peter received is also available to us. Whenever we fail, Jesus waits for us in the confessional, waiting to gently ask the question that matters above all else, “Do you love Me?” The temptation for us after sin or failure is to hide from God like Adam and Eve after their Fall. That tendency is prevalent among Christians as well. Some Catholics believe that God’s love must be earned by following all the rules, saying all the prayers, and giving money to the right causes. Yet when they fall, they doubt God’s love for them and keep their distance from God thereon. Like Peter, they carry deep within themselves their guilt. Externally they keep their respect for Jesus through their formal worship; however, they do not allow Jesus to have an intimate and close relationship with them. It’s a false notion that the more perfect we are, the more worthy we are to draw close to Jesus. In reality, Jesus welcomes spiritually poor, weak, and overburdened people to come as close to him with trust. Have we built hidden walls between ourselves and Jesus? Could these hidden walls be feelings of self-loathing, unworthiness, or hatred toward those who have hurt us? Jesus is saying to us today, “Do you want to be healed? Then, give me your pain. Give me your wounds. Give me your hurt. Give me your anger, your resentment, your bitterness. Give me your shame. Let me heal it. And then, come follow me.” Jesus’ instruction to Peter was clear after he restored and healed Peter from his guilt, “Feed my sheep.” The mercy we received is to be “fed” to others. “Be merciful as your Father is merciful,” Jesus said. We may forgive people after a betrayal but, with good reason, no longer fully trust them. Yet, Jesus showed Peter not only that he forgives him but that he also fully trusts him. When we forgive with mercy, we welcome back and restore friendship to those who, through their wrongs toward us, have become like strangers in our hearts. Such a difficult, yet beautiful act of mercy in fact consoles Jesus who is the Head of the Mystical Body of Christ. Imagine, imagine! We can love and console Jesus by forgiving, consoling, and assisting our neighbors!
