Fields United Methodist Church

Pastor Tom’s Weekly Blog.                      “Feed them”                John 21:1-19

April 24, 2020

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, ‘yes Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, “feed my lambs.” John 21:15

Elizabeth Browning penned the words, “how do I love thee, let me count the ways.” In her glorious Sonnet #43, Browning lists the many ways she lived and loved.  For Jesus, the list doesn’t seem terribly important. When we say we love Jesus, Jesus calls us to live out what we affirm through actively serving all those for whom he died. For Jesus, saying I love you without action is like saying “let me help you” and then just walking away; it makes no sense. In the Bible story, Jesus asked Peter three times the same question; “do you love me?”  The question that Jesus posed to Peter brings into full view the 2 greatest commandments; that we love the Lord God with all our strength, heart, mind and soul with the second being to love our neighbor as ourselves. To say we love Jesus is a “yes” to us fully understanding what it means to love God and neighbor. The Christian faith is based on the same love that Jesus witnessed and set into motion. Jesus was not in love with a cause or a series of rules and regulations, rather Jesus’ love was for people and serving all people for whom Jesus went to the cross to save from themselves. Our relationship with God is solely based on faith; what we do because of our faith are the fruits of our faith.  Jesus was asking Peter to live out his faith in love not only of Jesus but of people, all people. Affirming our love for God offers us the opportunity to love more completely those who journey with us through this life. Any relationship we hold dear, especially those we bless with the words, “I love you” is a relationship based on doing, not just saying.  Our relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ will only deepen and grow stronger if we use what we have been given by God to live out our faith in the service to others. As Richard Stearns wrote in his book, “Hole in the Gospel;” “if we truly love God, we will express it by truly loving our neighbors, and when we truly love our neighbors, it expresses our love for God.” Thank you Jesus for the privilege to love and serve all those for whom you died.

Rev. Tom Joyce, pastor

Fields United Methodist Church