Christmas Day 2009, Do You Love Me?

Christmas III

John 21: 15-25

(The End of the Four Gospels)

After they had had held their meal together, Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the others here?

Peter answered, “Lord you know that I am your friend”.

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

And he said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said to him, “Shepherd my young sheep.”

He asked him a third time, “Simon, Son of John, Are you my friend?”

Peter was heartbroken that he could say to him the third time, ‘Are you my friend’, and he answered, “Lord, you know all things; therefore you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Amen the truth I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked wherever you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and Another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

He told him this to indicate the kind of death by which he would bring the divine to revelation. Then he said to him, “Follow me.”

But Peter, turning, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, following him. He was the one who had leaned upon his breast at the supper and had asked, “Lord, who is it who betrays you?”  When Peter now saw him, his asked, “Lord, what of this man, what is his task?”

Jesus said to him: If is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path. Follow me…”

From this day the story spread among the brethren that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path.”

This is the disciple who here bears witness to these things and who has written all this. And we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that  Jesus did. If they were to be written down one by one, I do not think that the world itself could contain the books that would have to be written. 

Christmas III, Day

December 25, 2009

John 21:15-25

In this third of the three Christmas Day Services, we hear a reading from the very end of the Gospels. One might say that in this reading, the goal, the aim of Christ’s incarnation lights up, shining from the future into the beginnings.

His disciples had grown to love Him; they had suffered through the apparent loss of Him at His death. And now they are united with Him after his Resurrection. At Christmas we celebrate His birth on earth. This Resurrection is His second birth, His birth out of death.

He holds a conversation with Peter, which is at once deeply intimate and deeply personal. At the same time it is a conversation with the heart of every human being:

“Do you love me?.... If you do, then translate your love for Me into deeds of love for those whom I love.”  For Christ, it is not enough that we return His love. We must multiply it out into the world.  

We have heard: Glory to God in the Heights. And: Peace on earth to men of good will.

Vonesch

Indeed, peace on earth will only come about through good will, a will saturated with love and compassion. Good will starts as a positive inclination in our hearts. It awakens in movement toward others, with others. And then, good will fully exerts itself on earth in actual words and deeds that support others. The poet Hafiz says:

Out

Of a great need

We are all holding hands

And climbing.

Not loving is a letting go.

Listen,

The terrain around here

Is

Far too

Dangerous

For

That.[1]

 www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] “A Great Need”, in The Gift – versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

Christmas Day 2010, The Secret Fish

Christmas III

John 21: 15-25

(The End of the Four Gospels)

After they had had held their meal together, Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the others here?

Peter answered, “Lord you know that I am your friend”.

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

And he said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said to him, “Shepherd my young sheep.”

He asked him a third time, “Simon, Son of John, Are you my friend?”

Peter was heartbroken that he could say to him the third time, ‘Are you my friend’, and he answered, “Lord, you know all things; therefore you know that I am devoted to you.”

Arild Rosenkrantz

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Amen the truth I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked wherever you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and Another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

He told him this to indicate the kind of death by which he would bring the divine to revelation. Then he said to him, “Follow me.”

But Peter, turning, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, following him. He was the one who had leaned upon his breast at the supper and had asked, “Lord, who is it who betrays you?”  When Peter now saw him, his asked, “Lord, what of this man, what is his task?”

Jesus said to him: If is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path. Follow me…”

From this day the story spread among the brethren that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path.”

This is the disciple who here bears witness to these things and who has written all this. And we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that  Jesus did. If they were to be written down one by one, I do not think that the world itself could contain the books that would have to be written. 

Christmas III, Day

December 25, 2010

John 21:15-25

We celebrate the birth of God’s overflowing love taking on human form. God’s love focused itself intensely in Christ Jesus. The Christ Child, received in tenderness, cradled in the warmth of His mother’s love, grows. Being human, he will die. And yet something strange will happen: what is inside of Him, God’s overflowing abundance of love for the earth, will turn itself inside out. What is inside the man Jesus, radiating from there out into the world, will after His death surround the world from everywhere—love and strength.

The Child, love incarnate, has become the element of strong love that surrounds us all. Like air, we breathe it in. Like water, we swim in it. It sustains our life.

We are meant to become aware of this flowing invisible element of love that

Christopherus, Eyb

surrounds us. Hence the three questions to Peter—do you love me? We are to breathe in strong love and radiate it out again. With it, we are to nourish and protect those around us. The love we breathe in, the Christ love, we are to transform into deeds of love in support of our fellow human beings, for the earth. As the poet says:

As timely as a river

God's timeless life passes

Into this world. It passes

Through bodies, giving life,

And past them, giving death.

The secret fish leaps up

Into the light and is

Again darkened. The sun

Comes from the dark, it lights

The always passing river,

Shines on the great-branched tree,

And goes. Longing and dark,

We are completely filled

With breath of love, in us

Forever incomplete.[1]

We need a lot of practice, for we are not yet masters of love. But every year we become aware again of our task. Every year, our answer, ‘yes Lord, you know that I love you’, gains in strength.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

[1]  Wendell Berry, “Given”

Christmas Day 2011, New Destination

Christmas III

John 21: 15-25


(The end of the four Gospels)

After they had had held their meal together, Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the others here?

Peter answered, “Lord you know that I am your friend”.

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

And he said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said to him, “Shepherd my young sheep.”

He asked him a third time, “Simon, Son of John, Are you my friend?”

Peter was heartbroken that he could say to him the third time, ‘Are you my friend’, and he answered, “Lord, you know all things; therefore you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Amen the truth I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked wherever you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and Another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

Arild Rosenkrantz

He told him this to indicate the kind of death by which he would bring the divine to revelation. Then he said to him, “Follow me.”

But Peter, turning, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, following him. He was the one who had leaned upon his breast at the supper and had asked, “Lord, who is it who betrays you?”  When Peter now saw him, his asked, “Lord, what of this man, what is his task?”

Jesus said to him: If is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path. Follow me…”

From this day the story spread among the brethren that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path.”

This is the disciple who here bears witness to these things and who has written all this. And we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that  Jesus did. If they were to be written down one by one, I do not think that the world itself could contain the books that would have to be written.

Christmas III, Day

December 25, 2011

John 21: 15-25

If we want to go somewhere, first we have to decide on where that ‘somewhere’ is, decide on a destination. Then we can plan the way there.

This, today’s third gospel reading, may seem an odd choice. We read the traditional story from Luke of the child’s birth at the dawn service. But now, at this third service, we hear a scene from the end of all the gospels. Why?

It is because the birth of the Christ Child is the beginning of a new

Roland Tiller

destination for humankind. We are being shown a particular ‘somewhere’, so that we know where we are going. The journey that begins with angelic choirs and a small child will move, as we all do, through maturing and dying. But that is not the end; it is just the beginning. For after His death, Christ Jesus continues to visit, teach, encourage and strengthen his friends. He is pointing out the pathway we are all meant to tread: the way of learning to love and support the evolving selves of others. We are to feed the lambs, those who are still at the beginning of the journey. We are to guide those who are maturing, and to nourish all.

The particulars of the journey are different for each individual. When Peter asks about the other disciple’s path, he is told to honor his own path, to keep following the Goal of all mankind, the Christ. For Christ will say of Himself, ‘I AM the Alpha and the Omega, World beginning and world goal.’ Rev. 21:6 and Rev 22:13. As the poet says:

A journey can become a sacred thing:

Make sure, before you go,

To take the time

To bless your going forth,

To free your heart of ballast

So that the compass of your soul

Might direct you toward

The territories of spirit….

May you travel in an awakened way,

Gathered wisely into your inner ground;

That you may not waste the invitations

Which wait along the way to transform you.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] John O’Donohue, “For the Traveler”, in To Bless the Space Between Us, p.53

  

Christmas Day 2012, Feed My Lambs

Christmas III

John 21: 15-25

(The end of the four Gospels)

After they had had held their meal together, Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the others here?

Peter answered, “Lord you know that I am your friend”.

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

And he said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said to him, “Shepherd my young sheep.”

He asked him a third time, “Simon, Son of John, Are you my friend?”

Peter was heartbroken that he could say to him the third time, ‘Are you my friend’, and he answered, “Lord, you know all things; therefore you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Amen the truth I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked wherever you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and Another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

He told him this to indicate the kind of death by which he would bring the divine to revelation. Then he said to him, “Follow me.”

But Peter, turning, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, following him. He was the one who had leaned upon his breast at the supper and had asked, “Lord, who is it who betrays you?”  When Peter now saw him, his asked, “Lord, what of this man, what is his task?”

Jesus said to him: If is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path. Follow me…”

From this day the story spread among the brethren that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path.”

This is the disciple who here bears witness to these things and who has written all this. And we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that  Jesus did. If they were to be written down one by one, I do not think that the world itself could contain the books that would have to be written.

Christmas III, Day

December 25, 2012

John 21: 15-25

Mili Weber

Today we celebrate the beginning of the creation of a new kind of human being. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, who housed within Him the Christ, the Being of Love.

This reading from the end of all the gospels reminds us of what happened to that Child; He grew to become a man who gave up the innocence of His life in order to become the first born, not into earthly life, but to become the first born from out of the realm of death. The reading is from after his resurrection. Christ Jesus asks Peter whether he reciprocates Christ’s love for him. Peter is told three times in three different ways how his love for Christ is to blossom outward as deeds of love for others.

 

Every year Christ approaches close to us at this time. We have the chance to hear, from the One whose very Being is sacrificial Love, how we can show our love for Him; how our deeds can become a part of the offering song of the angels; how our deeds can support His work in the world.

Every year, we are given the opportunity to begin again. A new day has begun. And as He says in His ongoing revelation, ‘I am the star whose brightness shines in the morning.’ Rev 22:16 

As one poet says:

…God needs the longing, … we are …dark with farewell, lost in births' secret treasure trove,

Around us already…future moons, suns, and stars blaze in a fiery wreath.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Nelly Sachs (Translated by Ruth and Matthew Mead, in A Book of Women Poets from Antiquity to Now, ed. by Aliki and Willis Barnstone)