Our Gospel that we just heard is from the Epilogue of John’s Gospel. Why do I call it an epilogue? The last two weeks we have been hearing stories of the Resurrection. We heard on Easter Day the story of Mary Magdalene encountering the Risen Lord, and last week we heard about several of the Disciples who were gathered in a locked room when Jesus appeared. But Thomas wasn’t there, so one week later we heard that Jesus did the same thing, and this time Thomas was there and had the chance to encounter the Risen Lord.
Then John’s Gospel, as we heard last week, said “the end.” Now, it didn’t really say that. What John said was that there was a lot more stuff that Jesus did, that there were mores signs that were remarkable and wonderful, but he didn’t include all of them. He just picked these because they are great ones and this should be enough for you to hear and believe, and if you believe you will have life. That is the end. But yet we have a whole other chapter to the story. It is an epilogue. We have the full narrative part completed, and then we get one more vignette that is related, but kind of different. And that is what we have today, an epilogue.
What is the point of an epilogue? An epilogue is sometimes forward looking, saying something about the future, setting up a sequel, like at the end of a Marvel movie where after the credits there is a little hint of something coming. More traditionally, the epilogue is tying up loose ends and emphasizing some main, critical points the author wants to make. I think that is what is happening in John’s Gospel. But there is an element of forward looking, because the Disciples have gone back home and gone back to work. So Jesus does have to come again and call them again to follow him. Just because I am raised from the dead it doesn’t mean you can’t follow me any more. There is work to do. So it is a fore-looking epilogue in this regard.
But there are also loose ends to wrap up. What loose ends are there? One of the most important loose ends that this Gospel reading today is wrapping up is that Peter had denied Jesus three times. So how is it that Peter is this important guy if he denied Jesus three times? This Gospel is dealing with that. The clue to this is that really weird detail about the charcoal fire. Why does it matter that there was a charcoal fire? It matters because it only comes up one other time in the Gospel, and that is when Jesus denies Peter three times. After the Last Supper, after Gethsemane, after the arrest, Peter follows Jesus into the inner court where there is a charcoal fire that they are warming themselves by. There Peter is asked three questions about his relationship with Jesus, and each time he says I do not know him.
So what do we have in this part of the Gospel? Peter by a charcoal fire being asked three questions about Jesus and his relationship with him. Peter’s answer is, I love you. It is reversing what happened in the denial. It is his restoration. In this moment Jesus gives Peter three more opportunities, one for each of Peter’s denials, to say I love you, and Jesus restores him. Peter is able with the Psalmist to say, you have restored my life, O Lord.
This is interesting. What is more interesting is how it is that Jesus restores Peter, but this gets lost in translation. Remember this was not written in English. Typically, most languages have fewer words than English. The English language has a lot of words. When we translate Greek and Hebrew, the English translation has many more words than the original Greek or Hebrew. We like our English synonyms, sometimes because we want to add context or nuance, sometimes we think it boring to repeat the same word. So when we read an English translation, we find that there are many different words, but in the Greek or Hebrew it is the exact same word over and over again.
Today’s reading is the opposite. There are multiple words in Greek for love, but only one word in English. This Gospel reading uses multiple words for love that we don’t see. The two words for love used in the reading today are agape and philia. Philia is the brotherly love that has good feelings attached to it. Agape love, in Greek religious Scripture, is a higher form of love. It is understood, in first century religious communities, to be the divine love. So when John says, for God so loved the world, it is agape love. When it says in Deuteronomy, and when Jesus says, love the Lord your God with all your heart, it is agape love. It is the great love. When Jesus says to love your enemies, it is agape love. We don’t have to have warm feelings toward our enemies, we just need to love them. It is that high, deep love that Jesus is asking of us, but it does not have to be full of warm, squiggly feelings. So we have the higher love of agape, and the important, but slightly lower love, of philia.
Jesus comes to Peter and asks, do you agape love me? And Peter says, yes, I philia love you. Did Peter actually answer the question? So Jesus asks the second time, do you agape love me? And Peter says, yes, I philia love you. This is interesting. This is supposed to undo the denials, but is there a sense that Peter is still denying Jesus? Jesus is asking him do you agape love me, and Peter does not say yes, I agape love you. He says, yes, I love you in a different way, and this way is not as rich and deep and divine and holy as the way that Jesus is asking.
So the third time that Jesus asks the question, he asks do you philia love me? And Peter says, yes I philia love you. Jesus comes to Peter and asks do you love me in this awesome way, and Peter says I love you in the philia way. Jesus tries again: do you love me in this awesome agape way, and Peter says I love you in this philia way. Jesus says, OK. Do you love me in the philia way? And Peter says, yes, I love you in the philia way. Jesus does not berate Peter, he doesn’t require that Peter is perfect. Jesus’s desire for Peter is that he loves in the way that Jesus loves. That was the New Commandment. Love as I have loved. Love in this amazing agape way for me, for the world. Love like this is love in a perfect way. When Peter falls short of that, Jesus doesn’t say you’re out. Jesus comes and meets him right where he is. Can you do this Peter? Yes. Let’s try again: can you do this Peter? Yes. OK—I am coming right beside you Peter: can you do this? And Peter says Yes. Jesus says good. Now follow me. Jesus meets him where he is.
Isn’t that what Jesus is doing in the Incarnation? When God comes to earth, God is coming to meet us where we are. In the Incarnation, God is saying I want to be there right where you are. I have these dreams for you, but if we don’t make them, I will still love you. I’m still going to be with you. I will still care for you, and we’re going to work together on this. I hope I can lift you up, I hope we can get there, but if not I will come right where you are.
That is what Jesus does with us. Jesus meets us in all of our imperfections, in all of our limitations, right where we are. Jesus doesn’t wait for us to get it, to be perfect, to have that perfect, deep, rich love that God wants for the entire world and everybody within it. God meets us right where we are and says, I love you. Let’s walk together.
Do you agape love me? Yes, I philia love you. Do you agape love me? Yes, I philia love you. Do you philia love me? Yes, I philia love you. OK. That’s good enough. I love you, too.
AMEN.
