Good morning…
As I sit outside 2:00 am in a plastic hotel chair beside the Sea of Galilee, the air is dark, calm, cool. I collect my thoughts. I reflect back on another amazing day in Israel, in the region where Jesus, a beloved young Jewish rabbi, fed God’s agape love to everybody, prostitutes, tax collectors, those labeled “sinners.” Unlike the other seasoned rabbis, Jesus welcomed all who felt their need for God. The Jewish people loved him; the people in power hated him. The latter banned together shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” In the actual places where Jesus walked, talked, and taught, we savored eye-opening lessons from both Boaz, our wise Jewish guide, and my husband, Steve, a passionate Christian chaplain.
Now stirred awake in the middle of the night, I ask with a searching heart, “God, what would you have me share from this fantastic day?” After a few quiet moments, I am drawn back to a Bible story, a story we read aloud together by the Sea of Galilee.
When Jesus and his disciples had finished eating, he asked, “Simon son of John, do you (agape, sacrificially) love me more than the others do?”
Simon Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I do! (I philos, brotherly love you.)”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus said.
Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love (agape, sacrificially) me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I (philos, brotherly) love you!”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus told him.
Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you (philos, brotherly) love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus had asked him three times if he loved him. So he told Jesus, “Lord, you know everything. You know I (philos, brotherly) love you.”
Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17, NIV). Jesus met Peter right where he was, accepting as much as the limited love he could give.
Three words grabbed my attention as we were read this story aloud by lake: “Peter was hurt.” With the third pressing question, Peter’s heart was broken into. Peter’s heart may have been brought to tears, touched deeply by the friend he had denied three times. Might he have been remembering back to their previous conversation?
“But what about you?” he (Jesus) asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it (Matthew 16:15-18, NIV).
After we concluded our discussion of the passage, I intended to visit the Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter. Taking about five steps, I came upon a small roped off area in the sand. Newly uncovered, a large heart shaped rock with a teardrop shaped carved out of its center whispered for my full attention.
In that sacred moment, I texted myself this prayer:
“God, hurt my heart with what hurts yours. The poor. The powerless. The persecuted. Those who hunger and thirst for God’s right way. Break in and bring tears to my heart. For from this broken-into place within me, you will feed your worldwide church. I am invited to live the blessing you bestowed upon Abraham: I will bless you…you will be a blessing…and through you all of the families of the earth will be blessed. The church of the living Christ is brought to life through the tears of my broken heart.”
As we each live the prayers of our hurting hearts, Christ’s resurrection power spreads each day in tender, tiny ways.
…Sue…
