Better understanding the Gospel

with Marie-Noëlle Thabut

THE VOCATION OF PIERRE

Here again is an account of an appearance of the Risen Christ; the word "appearance" should not mislead us (perhaps "manifestation" would be better); Jesus does not come from elsewhere only to disappear afterward: he is constantly present with his disciples, and with us now, he who said, "I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Mt 28:20). He is invisible, but not absent; during these appearances, he makes himself visible; the Greek word says: "he reveals himself." These manifestations of Christ's presence among his people are a support for us; their role is to strengthen our faith: they are filled with concrete details, some of which may seem surprising to us, but which probably have symbolic value. For example, the one hundred and fifty-three fish: later, in the fourth century, Saint Jerome would comment on this number, saying that in Christ's time, exactly one hundred and fifty-three species of fish were known; So it would be a symbolic way of saying that it was the maximum catch, in a way.

John specifies that there were seven disciples (verse 2): as the seven Churches of the Apocalypse of John represent the whole Church, we can think that the seven disciples mentioned here represent the disciples of all times, that is to say, once again, the whole Church.

The first question concerning this text is this: upon landing on the shore, the disciples found a charcoal fire with fish and bread on it; and yet, Jesus told them to bring some of the fish they had just caught. Could it be that there wasn't enough? It's not certain that we can be satisfied with this purely arithmetic explanation. We should probably rather infer that in the work of evangelization symbolized by fishing (since Jesus called Peter "a fisher of men"), Jesus precedes us (this is the meaning of the fish already placed on the fire before the disciples arrived), but at the same time, he asks for our cooperation.

Another surprise in this text is the dialogue between Jesus and Peter; unfortunately, our translation cannot capture the subtlety of the Greek vocabulary. In French, we only have one verb, "to love." Greek, however, uses two different verbs: the first, "agapao," signifies love without reservation, total and unconditional. The second, "phileo," expresses the love of friendship, tender but not all-encompassing. The first two times, Jesus asks Peter, "Simon... do you love me?" using the verb "agapao," that is, "Do you love me with the total and unconditional love with which I love you?" (John 21:15)

But Peter, especially after the painful experience of his triple denial on the night of the Passion, does not respond with the same words. He loves Jesus, yes, but in the way of men, not in the way of God.

The third time, Jesus repeats his question, but with the verb "phileô." Pope Benedict XVI commented: "Simon then understands that his poor love is enough for Jesus, the only love he is capable of… One could say that Jesus adapted himself to Peter, rather than Peter to Jesus! It is precisely this divine adaptation that gives hope to the disciple, who has known the suffering of infidelity. It is from this that the confidence is born which will enable him to follow Christ to the end."

Just as, on Thursday night, Peter three times denied knowing this man, this time Jesus questions him three times: an infinite delicacy that allows Peter to erase his threefold denial. Each time, Jesus relies on this commitment, this adherence of Peter, to entrust him with the mission of shepherding the community: “Feed my sheep.” Our relationship with Christ only has meaning and truth if it is fulfilled in a mission of service to others. Jesus specifies “my” sheep: Peter is invited to share in Christ’s burden; he does not become the owner of the flock; but the care he takes of Christ’s flock will be the testing ground of his love for Christ himself.*

Why this specific question from Jesus, “Do you love me more than these?” This shouldn't be interpreted as a kind of certificate of good conduct, like, “Since you love me more than the others, I'm entrusting you with this responsibility”; on the contrary, it should be understood as, “It is because I am entrusting you with this responsibility that you must love me more!” Perhaps it's a subtle reminder to those in authority? The authority entrusted to us, in whatever field, is first and foremost a requirement: accepting a pastoral responsibility implies a great deal of love.

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Note

* - Saint Augustine comments: "If you love me, do not think that you are the shepherd; but feed my sheep as mine, not as your own."

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Additional Information

The Gospel of John (chapter 20) ended with, “There are many other signs that Jesus performed in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” It was indeed a very beautiful ending for the Gospel! Scholars wonder if chapter 21 might have been added later. It appears as a kind of postscript, perhaps intended to address the issue of Peter's preeminence, which was undoubtedly already being debated in the Christian communities of that time.

To put it another way, one might be surprised by the prominent role of Peter in an account of Christ's appearance, as written by Saint John: this perhaps reflects one of the problems faced by the early Christian communities. It seems that it was not without purpose to remind the community devoted to the memory of John that, by the will of Christ, the shepherd of the universal Church was Peter, not John.

“When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go”: this sentence immediately follows what we might be tempted to call Peter’s appointment, “Feed my sheep”; it seems to clearly state that the mission entrusted to Peter is one of “service” and not of domination! For, at that time, the belt was worn by travelers and servants: it will be doubly fitting for the servants of the Gospel. Peter will die for his faithfulness in the service of the Gospel; this is why John explains: “Jesus said this to show by what kind of death Peter would glorify God.” This means that this chapter is later than Peter’s death (during the persecution of Nero, in 66 or 67). This should not surprise us, since it is generally accepted that the Gospel of John is very late. Some even suppose (based on Jn 21:23-24) that the final redaction of the Gospel of John took place after his own death.