If spirituality does not help us to deal with the great challenges of life, then it has no real value. All of us occasionally face the challenge of not living up to our ideals. Whether in our familial relationships, our moral lives, or the squandering of our talents, we all miss the mark in one way or another, and these moments have the power to throw us into the quicksand of guilt, shame, and despair. Today’s Gospel reading addresses this issue of human failure with the highest wisdom. On the night of Jesus’ arrest before his crucifixion, Peter denied even knowing Jesus not once, but three times. Remember, Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples, and he was also chosen by Jesus to exercise a leadership role among the other disciples. Just imagine the depth of Peter’s remorse, humiliation, and self-loathing. Now let us turn to the resurrected Jesus’ interaction with Peter:
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” Jesus said to him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
Note that Jesus, the very embodiment of God’s goodness, does not shame Peter, but expresses his love for Peter three times, thus effectively canceling out Peter’s three denials and relieving him of his karmic burden. However, Jesus does not stop there. He asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” In repeating the question three times, Jesus was attempting to elicit a response from Peter, to open his heart so that he could consciously receive the mercy and love Jesus was offering him. God’s merciful heart is extended at all times to all people, but it has no power to heal us if we do not make the choice to lovingly receive it within our own hearts. Then, Jesus gave Peter the task of feeding his sheep, not once but three times. Jesus asked Peter to embody his divine presence for his followers. Jesus was engaging Peter’s will; he gave Peter a mission and a purpose that would empower him to transcend his depression, despair, and self-created hell. What lesson does this passage hold for us? We can only experience the full extent of the liberating power of God’s merciful love when we choose to give that love to others. Yogananda tells us,
The wise alone can be really merciful, for with divine insight they perceive even wrongdoers as souls—God’s children who deserve sympathy, forgiveness, help, and guidance when they go astray. Mercy implies the capacity for being helpful; only developed or qualified souls are capable of being practically and mercifully useful. Mercy expresses itself in usefulness when the fatherly heartache tempers the rigidity of exacting judgment and offers not only forgiveness but actual spiritual help in eliminating the error in an individual. Persons who continuously develop themselves in every way, and who mercifully feel and alleviate the lack of all-round development in others, surely will melt the heart of God and obtain for themselves His unending and matchlessly helpful mercy.
Divine Guruji,
You stand before me, asking,
“Do you love me?’
And then telling me,
“Feed my sheep.”
