Rev. Daniel E. Pilarczyk

By way of closure to his Gospel, John explains that there are many more things that could be written about Jesus, but all the books of the world couldn’t contain them.

Today’s Gospel reading is about forgiveness and friendship. We see Jesus giving Peter a chance to make up for his earlier betrayal. When Jesus says, “Follow me,” Peter knows he has been forgiven.

Jesus looks on his disciples–present and future–as the Father’s gift to him. They are precious to the Father and precious to the Son.

Discipleship is not easy. It involves sharing the joy of Jesus and the Father, but also includes being the object of the world’s hatred.

The Visitation scene reminds us that we too, participate in God’s plan of redemption. We have all been called to take joy in God’s intervention in our lives.

Sometimes we put too much confidence in the strength of our faith in Jesus. We think we believe, and indeed our faith is real, but it can also be weak. Yet Jesus strengthens our weakness and keeps us in touch with the strength of the Father.

Sometimes Jesus seems absent, yet he is never absent for long. Jesus invites us to look for his presence and action in our lives. In a little while we will see him, and we will rejoice.