Homily for May 19, 2018.
“Peter
turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved… he said to Jesus, ‘Lord,
what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remains
until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!’” John 21:20-22.
In yesterday’s
Gospel passage, we saw how Jesus predicted the death of Peter as part of the
sacrifice he would have to make for the sake of feeding the sheep of Christ. Jesus
told Peter that he would have to stretch out his hands while someone will tie
his belt and take him where he does not wish to go.
Actually, this
was a private conversation between Jesus and Peter and the reason why we are
privileged to know it is because there was someone just behind Jesus who was
listening. Having been told of his fate, Peter wanted to know if this would be
the case for others as well. So he asked about John saying: “What about this
man?”
To a very
large extent, we act like Peter sometimes; we find it difficult to just mind
our business and focus on our own relationship with God. We like to compare and
contrast with others all the time. There is this indiscreet competition going
on in our heads unconsciously, we base our happiness on the feeling of being
better than others and when we realize we are not, we suffer from unwarranted
anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.
The response
of Jesus to Peter is quite revealing. Jesus was in effect saying to Peter: “What
is your business? Even if I say he will remain till I come, how does that
affect you? Your own is to follow me, simple!” Competing with or comparing
ourselves to others is a very bad habit. If you are driving along the road on
top speed and all of a sudden, you take your eyes from your front view and
start looking at your window to see how your neighbour is driving, what would
become of you?
One might
wonder, if I am to mind my business, how then am I to correct my brothers and
sisters when they go astray? It is one thing to notice what is happening to
others but a different thing altogether to be pre-occupied with someone’s
future.
Again,
from the response of Jesus, one might be tempted to ask: Does it mean that God
has favourites? Why should John’s fate be different from that of Peter? Is it
the case that Jesus loved John more than Peter? Was he saying John would not
die because he loved John more than all of them? Dear friends, the truth is that
in as much as we are all unique, God loves every one of his children equally.
Our first
reading tells us of how Paul arrived in Rome and continued the work of
evangelisation there. Like Paul, there is no limit to what we can accomplish if
only we give God a greater space in our lives. I do not believe God is partial
but as can see, we do not all open our hearts equally to God. Indeed, the more
we make ourselves available for God, the more God uses us, the more we love
God, the more we see God’s love at work in the daily events of our life.
Finally, as
John reports, the Bible does not contain everything Jesus did and said. “Were
every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not
contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25. This statement perfectly
introduces us to tomorrow’s Feast of Pentecost. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is God
among us who comes to complete what Jesus Christ began.
We must
refrain from biblical fanaticism; that something is not in the Bible does not
mean it is not from God. The idea of discrediting a person’s Faith simply because
of certain practices not found in the Bible only brings about disunity among
the body of Christ and it serves us no good in the end.
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, I love you, take away from me anything that would serve as an
obstacle to this love. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 7th Week
of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 28:16-31 and John 21:20-25).
No comments:
Post a Comment