The 3rd Sunday of Easter
Scriptures: Psalm 30; John 21:1-19
Key Verse: “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” John 21:15a
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Hello, This is Jade.
Welcome to Yi.kigai
A space for all to explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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Easter Blessings. It is the 3rd Sunday of Easter. By now, like me, you might have seen that many stores have gathered their Easter items in the corner or in an aisle for sale. Maybe it has to do with the way these sale items are piled up on the shelves with marked down prices, somehow Easter seems not to be something as valuable or joyful as the real message of Easter Sunday. For people of faith, the embodiment of God’s love through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection never can be something for sale but an invaluable yet free gift to all simply through their believing.
A question my husband liked to ask me while we were dating was, “Do you love me?” After he said that he loved me, I would normally nod my head but hardly ever responded to him with the exact words, “I love you, too.” My explanation to him was that I had never heard my parents or people around me saying “I love you” to each other while growing up; therefore, it wasn’t easy for me to pick up this expression. So, I asked him, “How about your parents? Do you hear them say it often?” He said, “Yes.”
The only time I heard my dad say that he loved my mom was after they divorced. In that conversation, he told me how he met my mom through a matchmaker and fell in love with her. My initial impression of his definition of love was about responsibilities and duties. Then I recalled that he did get jealous if men tried to befriend my mom and felt down when they couldn’t find a better way to communicate with each other. The only conclusion I could offer to my dad was that each of their own unique expressions of love weren’t recognized or appreciated enough. He nodded and sighed.
In today’s reading from John 21:1-19, without Jesus’ physical presence with them all the time, his disciples went back to be fishermen again but caught nothing. I wonder if they remembered their hearts for fishing not for fish but for people after they decided to follow Jesus. After seeing this, Jesus appeared and instructed them where to fish. Indeed, Jesus didn’t disappoint them. Later, Jesus asked Peter if he truly loved him not just one time but three times. Peter didn’t disappoint Jesus either. He led people of God to fish for people and tend them as he had promised Jesus.
So, what is the definition of love for Jesus? Jesus’ love from this passage reminds me of a Chinese proverb, 愛屋及烏 - ài wū jí wū - which means if you love someone, you will likely love everything about them including loving and taking care of everything or anyone he or she loves. Many, including Christians, promote the idea of loving someone selflessly, which shouldn’t be equated to ‘loving without expectations.’ As the people of God, we do need to keep in mind that God does love us selflessly but has expectations in our relationship with God and with each other. We know that God created man in their image according to their likeness, and that God has never shied away from being a jealous God recorded in Exodus, Deuteronomy and other prophetic letters. That’s why we are taught to abide by the Greatest Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus laid out exactly what his expectations were to Peter and his followers, which were tending His followers and feeding them with God’s love and teachings. By having our own definitions of love and being good at certain love expressions, is there room for our improvement by aligning ours with Jesus’, and would we be willing to take some risks or even put our own pride to the side?
After serving God for years, I have learned that it is much easier if we do it for the sake of God’s Kingdom and focus on God’s Good News, but not our own little kingdom, broken and hurting from within and around it. By doing for God alone, we are able to become more like a little Christ - God’s likeness in the world, being the little light side by side with our siblings in Christ and leading all who are hungry and thirst for God’s love, and letting God’s love transform us daily to live a new changed life of forgiving and being forgiven.
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May your coming week be blessed by God’s grace
As together we explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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