What does it take for you to be led by someone or something? Does persuasive argumentation with evidential facts constitute the trust you would act upon? Or is there perhaps a sense of authenticity that you experience from a person that propels you into responsive action? Who and What do you listen to, i.e., really listen to? Do you feel that you make all the decisions about your life, or is the control of your life determined by people and structures that lie outside of you? Is it even a question of determination with regards to action? Do you feel that life simply offers itself to you in random fashion, and you must seek out the best possible way to deal with any given circumstance? Do you feel that you are a follower? And if so, Who or what is it that you follow?
We are coming to the close of the Easter Season, and we are still hearing the same message that seems to be one if not the most prevalent directive, so to speak, that Jesus gives throughout his entire life, including through his death and resurrection – “Follow me!” Throughout the Easter season, the scriptures have provided us with several stories of Easter encounters with Christ in various settings, through both the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. In each story there seems to be themes of wonder, mystery, loss, healing, and faith. Today’s scriptures seem to be centered around being led into (and by) life’s events in such a way that we could easily fall prey to discouragement and feelings of futility.
In the first reading (Acts 25:13b-21), Paul is being moved all around by forces that he seems to have no control over. Everyone seems to be lodging accusations against him in his Gospel outreach, but no one can seem to make a clean case against him. As the character, Festus, in the scriptures tells us:
“His (Paul’s) accusers stood around him, but did not charge him with any of the crimes I suspected. Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who had died but who Paul claimed was alive.”
It appears that the rigid stubbornness of Paul’s accusers in fact reveals more about “their own religion” and someone whom they think is dead, but whom Paul claims is alive. Paul is being charged and indeed later imprisoned for declaring that what appears to be dead and lifeless is indeed enlivened and life-giving! This is the Christ whom Paul proclaims. One can look upon this as Paul’s pro-action concerning his encounter with the Risen Lord. But it seems possible to also interpret this whole situation as Paul following Jesus, i.e., being led by the One he has come to trust and love. And this being led appears to lead to a fair amount of rejection, suffering, imprisonment, and ultimately death. It appears that in order to follow Jesus., we have to even sometimes challenge or even let go of our “own religion.” Sometimes this religion comes in the form of implicit bias, where we are being led by unconscious attitudes and stereotypes. These can be the most difficult to acknowledge and even harder also to address.
Peter is also questioned about his intentions and actions by Jesus himself in the Gospel today (JN 21: 15-19). Three consecutive times, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. And each of the three times – the third time with much exasperation – Peter replies that not only does he (Peter) love Jesus, but that Jesus knows that he loves him. Each time that Jesus throws the question to Peter and Peter responds affirmatively, Jesus enjoins him to “Feed and tend his sheep/lambs.” After this exchange, Jesus ends the conversation this way:
“…Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
This sounds a bit like Paul’s experience in the first reading. Trusting and loving Jesus ultimately will eventually involve being led into uncertainty, suffering and loss of control. These are all names for the different types of death that we encounter in life, which entails “losing your religion” so to speak. This is not a losing religion that signifies abandoning faith. The loss can mean the lived awareness that to live a life in communion with God, i.e., faithful trusting, one has no immunization against all those things in life that are unpleasant and undesirable. Sometimes our religious expectations of what life should be must be transformed in order for us to truly follow Christ. And before they can be transformed, they must be surfaced and faced honestly. This is no easy task.
Both Paul and Peter in the scriptures are probably wondering, just how many times they are going to be questioned and charged to endure or perform things that they don’t necessarily wish to go through or do. The closing lines of the Gospel today say it again…
And when he (Jesus) had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
These are the same words that Jesus used when he first met his disciples. The difference between the first time we hear Jesus saying it and now, seems to be the space between the two invitations of “Follow me.” This sacred space is the life death and resurrection pattern which Jesus has shared with his disciples and with the world. It’s the all-important space because it encompasses and embraces everything.
This love that Jesus seems to question Peter about is perhaps not only about the love that Peter has to give as much as it is about the love that Peter must receive and continue to receive. It is the receiving of love that truly transforms because we must say “Yes” in order to be received. Yet, receiving love is not always clear cut, especially when its being seen through ‘protective eye-wear.’ If we feel threatened by the challenges of this love, it may not appear as love at all. Isn’t this the impasse that we see so often in our social and cultural interactions? In order to follow Christ, we first must be able to identify Christ.
When Jesus commands Peter to feed and tend his lambs, could he be asking Peter to receive love in a way so that it breaks the dams of rigidity within Peter himself and so allow the love to flow out to others? Everything that Peter and all the disciples have experienced with Jesus is meant to be shared. We must eat in order to feed. This could mean that we tend and feed each other, it’s is not a unilateral motion. Indeed it is an exchange process wherein we share and show our love for God.
This means that we are following God by surrendering to Love everywhere we encounter it. And this surrender is no passive matter. It is full engagement and interaction through relationships that transform us and involve many times loss and suffering, by letting go of our religions of certainty, safety and rigidity. Can this be how we are led by Christ?
As we move towards the celebration of Pentecost, and the enflaming Love of God’s Spirit among us, we are reminded that we are asked to follow Christ in engaging surrender, which flows out in all directions, feeding and tending care to all of creation. In this way, we are called to follow the leader who is Christ walking side by side with us in each other. It is the very life of God in every step we take!
Peace,
Thomas
(originally published June 2, 2017)