Sermon 253

SERMO 253

IN THE EASTER DAYS

Peter is asked three times by the Lord about love.

The Gospel of Saint John the Apostle, which is called according to John, today ended with those things which narrated how the Lord appeared to His disciples after the resurrection. Therefore, He addressed the Apostle Peter, the presumptuous and denier, when He spoke to him now alive having conquered death and said: Simon of John (for thus was Peter called) do you love me? He responded with what was in his heart. If Peter answered what he had in his heart, why did the Lord ask who saw hearts? Indeed, even Peter himself wondered and listened with a certain annoyance to Him who was asking, whom he knew to be knowledgeable. Once it was said: Do you love me? It was answered: I love you, Lord, you know. And again: Do you love me? Lord, you know all things, I love you. And a third time: Do you love me? Peter was saddened. Why are you saddened, Peter? Because you answer love three times? Have you forgotten your triple fear? Let the Lord question you, He is the healer who questions you, it pertains to healing that He questions. Do not be afflicted by annoyance. Wait: the fullness of love is being accomplished to delete the number of denials.

The Lord's flock is given over to be fed by Peter.

Nevertheless, everywhere, everywhere, that is in the very number of three in his interrogation, the Lord Jesus commends his love for the sheep to the one responding, and says: Feed my lambs, feed my sheep; as if he were saying: What do you repay me because you love me? Show the love in my sheep. What do you offer me because you love me, when I have given you what you needed to love me? But you have a place to show your love for me, you have a place to exercise it: Feed my lambs. However, to the extent that the lambs of the Lord should be fed, sheep acquired at such a great price should be fed with great love, he demonstrated in the following. For after Peter, having completed the legitimate number of three responses, professed himself to be a lover of the Lord, upon the sheep being commended to him, he hears about his future passion. Here the Lord showed that his sheep should be so loved by those to whom he commends them that they are ready to die for them. Thus, the same John in his epistle: As Christ laid down his life for us, so we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

Peter, denying, died; prepared to undergo death, he is declared.

Peter answered the Lord with a certain proud presumption when he said to Him: "I will lay down my life for you." He had not yet received the strength to fulfill this promise; now he is filled with love so that he can fulfill it; therefore he is asked: "Do you love me?" and he responds: "I love [you];" because only love fulfills this. So, what, Peter? When you denied, what were you afraid of? All you feared was dying. He whom you saw dead speaks with you alive; now, do not fear death; in Him, death is conquered whom you feared to die. He hung on the cross, was nailed, gave up His spirit, was struck with a lance, was placed in the tomb; this is what you feared when you denied, you feared to suffer this and by fearing death denied life. Now understand: when you feared to die, you were dead. For he died by denying, but he resurrected by weeping. Then what does He say to him: "Follow me"? Knowing his maturity. For if you remember, indeed, those who have read remember - let those who have read and forgotten be reminded, or those who have not read learn - Peter said: "I will follow you wherever you go." And the Lord to him: "You cannot follow me now, but you will follow later." Now, He says, you cannot. You promise, but I see your strength, I inspect the vein of the heart and diagnose what is true for the sick: You cannot follow me now. But this diagnosis of the doctor is not despair, he added and said: "You will follow later." You will be healthy and you will follow. Now, since He sees what is in his heart and sees what gift of love He has given to his soul, He says to him: "Follow me." Indeed, I said: You cannot now; I say: Now follow me.

About John whom the Lord willed to remain always.

But a certain question arose which should not be omitted. When the Lord said to Peter, "Follow me," Peter looked back at the disciple whom Jesus loved, that is, John himself who wrote the Gospel, and said to the Lord, "Lord, what about this man? I know that you love him; how come I follow and he does not follow?" The Lord said, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me." The Evangelist himself, the one who wrote this, added his own words in the Gospel and said: "A rumor spread among the brothers because of this saying that this disciple would not die." And to remove this opinion, he added: "But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, 'If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?'" Thus, John himself removed this opinion by his own subsequent words; lest this be believed, he said, "The Lord did not say this, but he said this." Why John said this, however, he did not explain, but left it to us so that we may seek, if it is, however, revealed to us.

John 21:22 can be understood in two ways.

As much as the Lord deigns to grant me, as it seems to me - and it seems better to better people - thus I think that this question is solved in two ways: either the Lord spoke of Peter's suffering as He did, or He spoke of the Gospel of John. Concerning the suffering: "and follow me, suffer for me, suffer what I did," for Christ was crucified, Peter was crucified too, he experienced the nails, he experienced the torments; but John experienced none of these. This means: "Thus I wish him to remain, without wound, without torment, to sleep and wait for me; you follow me, suffer what I did, I shed blood for you, you shed it for me." Therefore, in one way, it can be explained what was said: "Thus I want him to remain until I come, you follow me; I do not want him to suffer, you suffer." However, according to the Gospel of John, it seems to me that it should be understood this way, since Peter wrote about the Lord, others also wrote, but their writings are more occupied with the humility of the Lord. For the Lord Christ is both God and man. What is man? Soul and flesh. Therefore, what is Christ? Word, soul, and flesh. But what kind of soul? For even animals have souls. The Word, rational soul, and flesh, this is the whole Christ. But concerning the divinity of Christ in Peter's letters, something is prominent, but in the Gospel of John, much is prominent. "In the beginning was the Word," he said. It transcends the clouds and transcends the stars, transcends the angels, transcends every creature, reaching the Word by which all things were made. "In the beginning was the Word, it was with God in the beginning. All things were made by it." Who can see, who can conceive, who can worthily receive, who can worthily pronounce? Then it will be well understood when Christ comes. "Thus I want him to remain until I come." I have explained as well as I could; it can be understood better in your hearts.