On a recent trip with several ministers to Israel, I was privileged to visit the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter – a Franciscan church located in Tabgha, Israel. The site is reputed to be the location where Jesus reinstated Peter after his denial and where the risen Christ breakfasted on a miraculous catch of fish with several of his disciples. The entire story is recorded in the 21st chapter of the Gospel of John. Most of the time when this passage is read we focus on the conversation between Jesus and Peter wherein Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” three times and each time Peter replies that he does – interestingly matching the number of times that Peter denied Christ.
Semantic arguments about this exchange aside, I often focus on the conclusion of the discussion where Jesus says explicitly to Peter – “Follow me!” Afterwards, as Peter and Jesus walked along the same lakeshore that my group visited, Peter noticed John following them. “What about him?” Peter asked. Jesus’ response is classic – “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Jesus didn’t mean that John would not die until his return (although that’s how it was misinterpreted by some) but rather that Peter needed to worry about his own relationship with Christ rather than compare and compete with another. It is interesting that this question regarded John, in this passage self-described as the disciple that Jesus loved and the one who had leaned back against Jesus and asked the question at the supper, “Who is going to betray you?” One implication is that Peter may still have felt a little insecure about his standing with Jesus – particularly in comparison to John (who may have been present during Peter’s denial).
Still, how often do we worry about the compliance and commitment of others when God really wants us focus on our unique relationship with him? If we make sure that we are following Christ, this will undoubtedly inform the way that we treat others around us and release us from the compare and contrast game that can so viciously erode our confidence. But what does it mean to follow Christ? Does it mean that we agree to live by his principles as we forge out our destiny through our own creativity and as we seek our desires and our dreams? Or does it rather mean that we simply go with him, arm in arm each day, giving up our self-determinism and allow his dreams to become ours? This is more than living by Christ’s principles, this is living with Christ. If Christianity is about living by certain principles only than it is little more than a moral code. If it is about a relationship with God through the risen Christ then it truly is life-changing and eternal.
Semantic arguments about this exchange aside, I often focus on the conclusion of the discussion where Jesus says explicitly to Peter – “Follow me!” Afterwards, as Peter and Jesus walked along the same lakeshore that my group visited, Peter noticed John following them. “What about him?” Peter asked. Jesus’ response is classic – “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Jesus didn’t mean that John would not die until his return (although that’s how it was misinterpreted by some) but rather that Peter needed to worry about his own relationship with Christ rather than compare and compete with another. It is interesting that this question regarded John, in this passage self-described as the disciple that Jesus loved and the one who had leaned back against Jesus and asked the question at the supper, “Who is going to betray you?” One implication is that Peter may still have felt a little insecure about his standing with Jesus – particularly in comparison to John (who may have been present during Peter’s denial).
Still, how often do we worry about the compliance and commitment of others when God really wants us focus on our unique relationship with him? If we make sure that we are following Christ, this will undoubtedly inform the way that we treat others around us and release us from the compare and contrast game that can so viciously erode our confidence. But what does it mean to follow Christ? Does it mean that we agree to live by his principles as we forge out our destiny through our own creativity and as we seek our desires and our dreams? Or does it rather mean that we simply go with him, arm in arm each day, giving up our self-determinism and allow his dreams to become ours? This is more than living by Christ’s principles, this is living with Christ. If Christianity is about living by certain principles only than it is little more than a moral code. If it is about a relationship with God through the risen Christ then it truly is life-changing and eternal.