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Doubts are the messengers of the Living One to the honest. They are the first knock at our door of things that are not yet, but have to be, understood…Doubt must precede every deeper assurance; for uncertainties are what we first see when we look into a region hitherto unknown,
unexplored, unannexed.
- George Macdonald
(What doubts are you struggling with these days? How might they be invitations to deeper seeking . . . trusting . . . surrendering?) |
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ACTS 25:13B-21; PS 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20AB
JN 21:15-19
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
"Simon, son of John, do
you love me?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
He said to him, "Tend my sheep."
He said to him the third time,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
"Do you love me?" and he said to him,
"Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."
Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you
wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go."
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."
USCCB Lectionary
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John 21:15-19 (We now live for God)
Peter had denied
Jesus three times and Jesus knew Peter must have felt terrible about this. That is why Jesus now gives Peter an opportunity to affirm his love by asking his disciple three times, “Do you love me?” With Peter’s affirmative responses, Jesus states that acceptance of his love should move us to share our lives with others.
- How does God “put a belt around you and take you where you would rather not go”?
- What kind of person would you be if you
were not committed to following Jesus Christ?
- Hear Jesus asking you, “Do you love me?” After a few minutes, give him your response.
3rd edition pocketbook, trade book, Kindle, eBook.
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd
ed.) ____________ Chapter 7: The Journey to Belonging: The Ego-God Relationship The Spirit-centered Ego Identity still seeks a reference point, however, even with secular humanists. The question, “who do I say that I am?” remains, and the most common means for answering it is to consult
with one’s own self-image. There do we find a reflection of our lives mirrored in the memory, emphasizing certain aspects, values, judgments, etc.. Identity, it seems, draws its psycho-spiritual form from the roles we play (father, son, counselor, etc.), the labels we have attached to (smart, handsome, overweight, etc.), the groups we associate with (Catholic, American, LSU fan, etc.), the judgments of others we value (responsible, industrious, creative, etc.) and so forth. If someone asks us
who we are, we begin to divulge information from self-image, generally beginning with what is most mundane. If there are parts of self-image we do not like, we can “work” on that, to some extent. Negative self-judgments can be reversed, for example; critical feedback from others can be taken with a “grain of salt.” We might also acknowledge to ourselves that there are parts of us that we just don’t know (that Unknown area, mentioned in Chapter 6), or that we are still finding out who we
are. But, by and large, it is self-image that is our most common reference for identity. This is not a bad thing in and of itself; it’s just the way things are. Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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