May 3: Preparing to Celebrate Sunday’s Mass

There on the shore of the lake (in John 21, 1-19), Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” We like to connect this with Peter’s triple denial of Jesus: he was being given a chance to undo the damage, layer by layer.

In addition, however, something else was happening in that encounter. In the original language of the Gospel, there is something that doesn’t appear in English. In the Greek language, there are several words for “love.” Let’s look at two of them: “Philein” means to love someone as a friend or brother; meanwhile, “agapan” (pronounced agga-pan) means to love someone in the distinctive way that Jesus loved: unselfishly, creatively, unconditionally, sacrificially, and endlessly. This second kind is mysteriously deeper and wider than the first, because it doesn’t depend on like-mindedness as friendship does or the bond of family as brotherhood does.

In the Greek of the Gospel, Jesus first asked Peter, “Agapas me?” (Do you love me with the kind of love that means you would lay down your life for me?) Peter replies, “Philo se.” (I love you as a brother or a friend.) The second and third times the words are the same.

The point is that St. Peter wasn’t yet able to love Jesus in that heroic, lay down your life for me kind way. But that didn’t cause Jesus to turn away from him or go in search of someone else who was ready to love like that. In a sense, Jesus was willing to accept that St. Peter was doing the best we could at the time. He was was not able to rise to heroic, agape love on that occasion, but the day would come when he could – and would. Don’t we all find that to be comforting? Jesus accepts us where we are and however ready we are to love, but He encourages us to love in a more full way each and every day. Be sure to come to Mass this weekend ready to hear His encouragement and respond to His amazing grace.