DO YOU LOVE ME?

This portion of Acts speaks of Paul in prison and the Romans are reticent to convict him. They don’t want to get involved in religious beliefs. Paul’s crime is that he is a “Jesus person” and he is preaching that “Jesus is alive”.

You and I, as Christians, know that Jesus was resurrected, ascended to heaven and is Alive Today. Jesus is alive in us. For those of other religions, God is alive in us today, in how we live our lives.

God’s freedom, a gift to each of us, is our choice of how we live, what beliefs and values we behave from as well as voice. Like Peter who responded to Jesus’ question, “do you love me?” each of us responds to that question each day in our living and loving.

“Feed my lambs…feed my sheep” is meant for us. We are to nourish one another and welcome nourishment ourselves. We can share our FAITH: “who is God for me now?...how am I loving God now…where do I find God in my life today?” We can share our LOVE, i.e. with family or friends who need Presence rather than judgment in their painful times. We can allow others into our grief and loss times.

The lambs among us, who might they be? Lambs are led to slaughter. Bono, on a TV clip this morning from Africa said it wisely: “God is with the poor”. The poor are figuratively slaughtered daily as the world community pays little attention to their plight. They are ravaged by poverty, by disease, by oppression. We world peoples seem to pay more attention to war and winning than to health care and disaster relief. The voices of and for the lambs speak of involvement rather than apathy and denial.

God loves us through and through. God knows when we have “Paul moments”: Jesus is alive! God knows when we have “Peter moments” and deny Jesus’ Presence in us and others. God loves us in all of our moments.

The psalmist says:

Choose to love. Choose God-life.