Loving Christ Above All Else - Third Sunday After Easter

Loving Christ Above All Else

Third Sunday After Easter

Rev. Fr. Sujit T. Thomas

( St. John 21:15-19)

This Sunday’s reading is a continuation of last week’s reading. It is the only account in the four gospels of this miraculous catch and the ensuing conversation. Christ reinstates Peter to the Apostolic ministry. During the passion of Christ, Peter had denied Christ three times; in a parallel fashion Christ asks three times to Peter about his love for Christ. This reading reminds us of the deep love that we ought to have for Christ. Above all Christ wants us to love him. This love that we give to Christ is a love in return for the love that he has offered to us. It is in return for the salvation that Christ has brought for us through is death and resurrection. Through our Lord’s passion and resurrection he has given us a strength beyond any power in this world. We say along with the Psalmist, “I love you, O Lord, my strength” (Psalm 18:1).

The love that Christ requires of us is absolute love that sees everything else as futile. It is a love that costs everything else in this world. That is why Christ probes Peter and asks, “Do you love me more than these?” Peter must confess that there is nothing else in this world that is of more value to his life than Christ. Christ had already warned, "whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37).

This is a question that Our Lord asks of each of us. Do you love Christ more than everything else in our life? Is there anything in our life that stands between our love for our Lord. In the same manner as King David we ought to be people after the heart of God. In his Devotional work Imitation of Christ, Thomas A Kempis states, “You will quickly be deceived if you look only to the outward appearance of men, and you will often be disappointed if you seek comfort and gain in them. If, however, you seek Jesus in all things, you will surely find Him.”

Questions for Meditation

1) What or who do we love the most in our life?

2) If we love Christ, how do we express that love?

Author’s Information:

Name: Rev. Fr. Sujit T. Thomas

Area: St. Paul’s Orthodox Church, Albany

Number: 516-754-0743

Email Address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it