Due to process Love

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the nature of due process in our relationships with God and others.

Reflection on fate

In the Acts of the Apostles, the trial of Paul, as a Roman Citizen, is a process that has Festus send him to Rome.

* [25:13] King Agrippa and Bernice: brother and sister, children of Herod Agrippa I whose activities against the Jerusalem community are mentioned in Acts 12:1–19. Agrippa II was a petty ruler over small areas in northern Palestine and some villages in Perea. His influence on the Jewish population of Palestine was insignificant.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus engages Peter in a dialogue of forgiveness and commitment to his mission as shepherd of Jesus flock.

* [21:15–17] In these three verses there is a remarkable variety of synonyms: two different Greek verbs for love (see note on Jn 15:13); two verbs for feed/tend; two nouns for sheep; two verbs for know. But apparently there is no difference of meaning. The threefold confession of Peter is meant to counteract his earlier threefold denial (Jn 18:17, 25, 27). The First Vatican Council cited these verses in defining that Jesus after his resurrection gave Peter the jurisdiction of supreme shepherd and ruler over the whole flock.

Dennis Hamm, S.J. comments that each of us who claims to be a disciple of Jesus is invited into an act of trust, as people forgiven and assigned our particular task.

And this seaside scenario is not only a matter of astounding forgiveness; it is also a commissioning: “Feed my lambs; feed my sheep.” The Good Shepherd is enlisting this errant sheep in the Master’s own work of shepherding. Peter is given an opportunity to demonstrate the love he professed by sharing in the mission of the risen Lord. Ultimately, it is going to be a matter of being led where he does not want to go. Loving the head shepherd will entail following him even to a death like his. But he need not fear. The Lord stands there full of risen life, a life Peter can also share already in the act of following.

Don Schwager quotes Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D. on our response to “Do you love me?” Feed my sheep.

"Christ rose again in the flesh, and Peter rose in the spirit because, when Christ died in his passion, Peter died by his denial. Christ the Lord was raised from the dead, and out of his love he raised Peter. He questioned him about the love he was confessing and entrusted him with his sheep. After all, what benefit could Peter confer on Christ by the mere fact of his loving Christ? If Christ loves you, it is to your advantage, not Christ's. And if you love Christ, it is to your advantage, not Christ's. And yet Christ the Lord wanted to indicate how people ought to show that they love Christ. And he made it plain enough by entrusting him with his sheep. 'Do you love me?' 'I do.' 'Feed my sheep.' All this once, all this a second time, all this a third time. Peter made no other reply than that he loved him. The Lord asked no other question but whether he loved him. When Peter answered, our Lord did nothing else but entrust his sheep to him." (excerpt from SERMON 229n.1.4)

The Word Among Us meditation on John 21:15-19 is to be open to the unique forms of grace available in all seasons of our life.

For instance, if you’re finding that everything seems to take longer and you can’t crowd as many activities into your day, that may be God asking you to simplify your life. Try to focus on what matters most: loving and being loved. If you aren’t able to do as much for your family or friends, you can develop a new appreciation for just being with them or lifting them up in prayer. Even your need to depend on family or friends more can help you learn more about how we all need one another as members of the body of Christ. In fact, by letting people serve you, you are giving them a chance to grow!

Friar Jude Winkler provides background for the lengthy imprisonment of Paul and the nature of the Roman citizenship that became his ticket to Rome. Peter was not capable to profess agape to Jesus. Friar Jude reminds that we are not Mother Theresa but we are called to do the best we can with what we have.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that God works best underground and in our unconscious, by rearranging our assumptions and presuppositions, when we are not in control. He quotes Barbara Coleman about being unself-conscious and being willing to lose oneself in the work.

By not emphasizing a product, and by focusing on process instead, the work becomes more successful as well. The more [we are] able to reach a state of awareness in which [our] self-consciousness disappears into the desire to participate and see what [we] are trying to express, the more the art [and, I would add, God] can reach [us].

The arc of our lives will involve us in situations that we may initially fail to connect with God acting in our life, yet our later reflection reaffirms that Jesus redeems all our action to be used for Love.
References


(n.d.). CHAPTER 25 Appeal to Caesar. 1Three days after his arrival in the .... Retrieved May 18, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts/acts25.htm

(n.d.). John, chapter 21 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 18, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/21

(n.d.). John, chapter 15 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 18, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john15:29

(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved May 18, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 18, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(n.d.). 7th Week of Easter - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations .... Retrieved May 18, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/

(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 18, 2018, from https://cac.org/richard-rohr/daily-meditations/daily-meditations-archive/