Homily for Saturday, 7 June 2014‒ Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Readings of the day: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; Psalm 11:4, 5, 7; John 21:20-25

Have any of us ever found ourselves eager for explanations about difficult questions raised by our faith; eager for answers; eager for certainty? How many of us have ever found ourselves so eager for explanations; for answers; for certainty that we become distracted from the essential goal of our Christian faith: Following Jesus, and so becoming more like Jesus our Lord?

I do not mean to be overly critical in asking these questions, but only to invite us to reflect deeply on our life of faith. Even the best Christians, I think, sometimes become burdened in our questions; our quest for explanations, answers, and certainty so that we can become distracted from what Jesus asks of Peter and of us in today’s Gospel reading: “Follow me.”

St. Peter, Jesus’ choice as leader of the first Apostles, becomes distracted from the essential goal of our faith, following Jesus, in our Gospel reading today from John. As Jesus’ passion and death approaches, Peter searches for answers to the most difficult questions: Who will betray Jesus? Will the beloved disciple, the one who reclines against Jesus at the Last Supper, “remain until” Jesus comes again? In light of these questions, Jesus brings Peter back to focus on what is most important: “What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”

On the one hand, I think Peter deserves a lot of credit for asking the questions he asks; for admitting here and at many points in our Gospels when he does not understand; when he is afraid; when he is in need of forgiveness; when he is every bit the frail human being that we are, nonetheless chosen by God’s grace to follow Jesus. On the other hand, like us Peter sometimes needs to be reminded by Jesus of this essential goal of our faith: “You follow me.”

And so we, like Peter, are invited on the one hand to seek less certainty and answers and explanations to our most perplexing questions and to accept some measure of uncertainty; ambiguity; unanswered or unanswerable questions of our faith this side of eternal life. Yet, on the other hand, we are invited to keep asking questions of God in prayer; of one another; of the Church. We are invited to be faithful apostles like St. Peter; people who question honestly and freely, as long as, with God’s grace, we maintain the essential focus of our faith to which Jesus draws Peter and draws us: “Follow me.”