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| THE LORD JESUS COMMANDS PETER: FOLLOW ME. Image via google.com |
"Feed my lambs, ...
Tend my sheep, ...
Feed my sheep, ...
Follow me."
In John 10:16, the Lord Jesus Christ, as part of His discussion of His being the Good Shepherd, tells his Apostles that He has other sheep that must also be brought in so that there would be just One Fold and One Shepherd. This affirms His intention of establishing His Church as one community of His followers and believers. If it was not necessary for all His followers and believers to be One, He wouldn't have declared this wish for His other sheep to belong to the One Fold.
In this reading, the Lord Jesus Christ asks His Apostle Peter if he loves Him - thrice! We must recall that during the Lord's trial before His death, Peter denied Him thrice, as the Lord himself prophesied during the Last Supper [see Luke 22:34]. This time, the Lord Jesus Christ somehow puts Peter to trial and asks him if he loves Him - more than the love of the others. Three times Peter answered in the positive - though he felt a little sad that the Lord has to ask him about his love for Him three times. We discussed this theme of love during the Third Sunday of Easter.
Today we focus on the important role that the Lord Jesus Christ entrusts upon this Apostle, whom He called blessed for declaring that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God while they were at Caesarea Philippi, saying that such confession of faith of who He is was a revelation from God and not according to men earning him the name Peter, meaning Rock, from being Simon, meaning he has heard [see Matthew 16: 16-19]. There are theological disputes on the proper interpretation of this event which the Catholic Church believes to be the foundation of Papal primacy, authority and infallibility. Other Christians conveniently proclaim that the Lord's declaration of the rock as foundation of His Church refers to Himself and that the keys of authority have been handed not only to Peter but also to the other Apostles. However, the Church's doctrine on Peter's primacy is not only based on this single passage but also on this present passage we are reflecting on and on some other passages such as that which Luke recorded as preceding the Lord's prophesying about Peter's denial,
"Simon, Simon! Look Satan has got his wish to sift you all like wheat; but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and once you have recovered, you in turn must strengthen your brothers" [Luke 22: 31-32].
The Lord Jesus Christ himself gave importance to Peter - even if John claims that someone else was considered to be His beloved Apostle! I do not have to enumerate all the occasions wherein Peter takes precedence over the other Apostles but the consistency in listing him as number one among the twelve and the many episodes wherein he is recorded as almost exclusively mentioned together with the Lord somehow lead us to believe that Peter really had been given a specific and significant role of leadership even over the Apostles.
This event wherein the Lord commands Peter to feed His lambs, tend His sheep and feed His sheep is one of the occasions wherein the Lord manifests His preference for Peter. We do not disregard the importance of the other Apostles of course for they themselves have given of themselves, their lives, their future, everything, but we must give credit to whom credit is due. We cannot also disregard the fact that the ultimate foundation of the Church is the Founder himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. But even in the corporate world, there are founders of businesses who do not actually handle the initial operations of their businesses but have entrusted such role to other capable people.
One important thing that we must take note is that Peter's primacy and the Pope's infallibility are not meant for Peter and the Popes to lord it over the Church [see Matthew 20: 26-27; Mark 9:35; Luke 22:26]. The office is one of service, of servant-leadership, of shepherding even to the point of dying for the flock [see John 10:11]. The Lord Jesus Christ did not give Peter the authority to claim earthly benefits and dignities but to dispense duties and responsibilities related to the mission of proclaiming the Gospel to all creation, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them everything that the Lord has taught and assuring them of His perpetual presence in the Church [see Matthew 28: 19-20].
Peter was made a shepherd but he was not to be the one to be followed for he was also commanded to follow: to follow the Lord, to follow His teachings, to proclaim His Gospel and doctrines. Peter leads in order to bring the Church to the Lord. Peter does not lead to give glory to himself. He leads because he wants to give glory to God and to the Lord Jesus Christ. There are those who deny Peter the primacy because they do not want to follow his lead because Peter teaches what the Lord has commanded Him to teach which for others is a hard teaching to follow.
But would we rather follow those who left the Lord behind because He taught them some hard teaching? [see John 6: 60, 66] Or would we stay with the Apostles, whose response was voiced out by Peter, who answered when the Lord asked them if they want to leave Him also, with
"Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life,
and we believe;
and we have come to know
that you are the Holy One of God."
- John 6: 68-69
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