Mike's Gospel Reflection for Sunday, May 4, 2025

“Do you love me more than these?”

This is the question that Jesus asks Peter at the end of John’s Gospel. It is also His question to each of us two thousand years later.

In the Gospel we hear that Peter and several other apostles have gone to the lake. They are a little discouraged, maybe still a bit fearful, and definitely uncertain about what they should do next. Now that Jesus is gone, Peter needs something familiar to take his mind off things. So, he says, “I am going fishing.” After all, fishing is where he was most comfortable and what he knew best. This is where he could be himself and forget about life for a while. The others join him.

Unfortunately, their return to their old lives doesn’t go well. They don’t catch a single fish. It’s as if God is saying “This is not the job I want you to do!” To get their attention, Jesus intervenes and gives them some advice which helps them to catch 153 fish! After breakfast, Jesus asks Peter three questions: “Simon…do you love me more than these…do you love me…do you love me?”

When Jesus says, “more than these” it is likely that Jesus is referring to boats, nets, and especially, fish. Does Peter love sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ more than he loves his old, safe, comfortable life as a fisherman. Peter’s “Yes!” to each question tells Jesus that he is indeed ready to leave behind his former life, his own plans, and his fears. He is finally ready to do what Jesus needs him to do: to find, feed, and tend to the followers of Jesus. Jesus makes Peter a “fisher of men.”

Jesus gives Peter the chance to affirm his love for Jesus three times and the chance to sacrifice his career, plans, and earthly ambitions. To follow Jesus means to give up his life just as Jesus did. The question that is posed to us is “Do we love Jesus more than these?” These houses, these cars, these clothes, these jobs, these successes, these earthly distractions, these sinful behaviors, these comfortable plans that we have made, these lazy habits that we enjoy. Are we finally ready, like Peter, to accept our “great commission” to follow Him?

Fr. Mike