All Souls Saturday; the Holy Martyr Basiliscus (286-305)
Acts 28:1-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; John 21:15-25; John 5:24-30
Read John 21:15-25
Have you ever given a cheap apology and received cheap forgiveness? Sometimes we resign ourselves to lip service to “keep the peace” instead of actually giving or receiving forgiveness and allowing for true reconciliation. Not so with our Lord!
This conversation after breakfast on the beach only makes sense in the light of Peter’s three-fold denial of Our Lord. Although promising to go to prison if necessary for Christ, Peter denied Him three times before a different charcoal fire. Christ’s sacrificial death and Resurrection have made possible Peter’s forgiveness, but how is that forgiveness given? Not with a pat on the back or mere words, but with a deepening command and a fresh challenge. Peter is reinstated and shows his love for Christ and thankfulness for forgiveness through serving Christ’s people. It is not that he is “earning” his forgiveness—it’s always a gift—but that he is given the command to act as one forgiven!
This is one of the reasons why ordination to the priesthood can be considered a sacrament of healing. When a man ordained to minister in the Church as a cleric, the prayer calling down the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands is one which speaks of “healing that which is infirm.” Deacons, priests, and bishops are men who have sinned and been forgiven and have been sent to love others by the Lord. As NT Wright observes: “Peter went from strength to strength. He was still muddled from time to time, as [the book of] Acts indicates. But he became a shepherd. He loved Jesus and looked after his sheep. No one could ask for more. Jesus never asks for less.”