Thursday, April 11, 2013

Do you love me more than these?

What is the risen Lord Jesus asking Peter here?

Who or what are the these?

Is it "do you love me more than [you love] these?"

Or, "do you love me more than these [love me]?"

The "these" might be the other disciples, the fishing kit and boats or the fish.

It seems to me that Jesus is unlikely to be asking Peter if Peter loves him more than the other disciples love him.

It seems to me that Jesus does require Peter to love him more than Peter loves the other disciples, or his old way of life which is represented by the fishing gear and than the fish, which stand for what Jesus can do for him and for "success".

Let us consider these temptations:

We are to love Christ more than we love anything else

We are to love Christ more than we love anyone else

We are to love Christ more than we love life without him / our old pre-Christian way of life

We are to love Christ more than we love success or what Christ offers

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