Do You Love Me?

I know you all do, lol, but that was the question posed by Jesus to Peter today.  Today we celebrated the Third Sunday of Easter! Wow!!! Time is sure flying.

Last week was a busy week for me.  I had many meetings and this past weekend was our Education class which was held Friday eve from 5-8pm and Saturday from 9am-2pm.  Needless to say, by 3pm on Saturday my head is mush...actually the last hour of class is really difficult for me....trying to pay attention while my brain starts shutting down and I can't translate fast enough to keep up with things.  Yes, the struggles of my life here!

I head to the US on Tuesday.  I will be in St. Louis for Council meetings until Sunday.  I will get a chance to see the people in the parish and see members of my community as well.  On Sunday afternoon I head to Orlando to visit with my dad and my brother Jimmy and his family for 5 days.  I will be happy to see my dad who moved into an Assisted Living Center back in November.  I was there the week after he moved in, and now I am happy to say that he has made the adjustment to his new living space and I think he enjoys being there.  I will take him out a few times just to get him out of the place.  I will return to Mexico just in time for another Fri/Sat class!

On a personal note, I rejoined Weight Watchers (I can't count which time this is!!!!!) and have been slowly losing weight since the beginning of January.  It is hard here because the diet is not full of vegetables, but full of fried food and lot's of oil!  I have to make choices and for the most part I am doing well.  I'm not losing at a fast rate, but I am losing.  So far I am down 28 lbs.  I am part of a Memorial Day Challenge and I hope to lose at least 9 more pounds by Memorial Day.  It may not seem like a lot, but I have two big trips coming up and I don't always do well when I am away, so I am taking that into account as I press on with my weight loss.  Another difficulty for me is that I do not go to a gym.  Now, I've had a gym membership since I've been 23 years old, and I actually used it all the time!   So, I have to walk outside and close by there is a park that has some equipment where you just use your body weight as resistance.  So, I am not pumping iron, but I am getting some work out in.  I am also counting steps.  I downloaded an app that tells you your steps each day and how many calories you burned.  My goal is to walk 100,000 steps each week.  So far since I've started counting steps over the past 2 weeks, I've achieved my goal.  Not sure if I will hit the mark this week as I developed a blister on the bottom of my foot and it put me out of commission for almost 2 days.  When I was able to return to walking any distance, I had to adjust the number of steps I had in my daily goal until I was back to "normal".  I have changed my weight loss mentality from a sprint to a marathon.  I'm in it for the long haul and I will get there when I get there.  This is a big step for me and my competitive personality.  But, I have been down this path many times before and my former thinking did not bring me success....as they say, "What is the definition of insanity?"  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  In the words of Susan Powter (1993) : STOP THE INSANITY!

So, I am trying to physically get it together here, and that really helps with my emotional well being. It does help that the weather is good and I can do things outdoors.  I try to walk outside before it gets too hot here!

I hope all of you are doing well in your lives too.  I look forward to seeing each of you one day soon.  Until then,  all of us must answer the question for ourselves...."Do you love me?"

Homily Third Sunday of Easter

Morning Church! Happy Easter! Yes, we continue to celebrate the fifty days of this great season of Easter.  Are you still filled with joy?  If you have joy in your heart, turn to the person next to you and say, “I am full of joy”

Well, the word of God today gives us great reason to be filled with joy.  Today the Gospel invites us to reflect upon forgiveness and redemption.  Who here in this Church wants a second chance?  Who here in this Church ever made a mistake?  All of our hands should be raised, Amen? Well the Gospel today reminds us that Jesus can forgive anything and can take our shame away so that we can live our life as redeemed people.  That is Good News, Amen?

So, how does this happen?  Let’s go back in time a few weeks ago as we celebrated Good Friday.  Jesus was arrested and all of his disciples fled.  Jesus’ best friend and leader of the disciples, Peter, denied Jesus how many times?  Yes, three times.  Not just one time did he say that he did not know Jesus, he said it three times!  One time is a little mistake, but three times?  Peter knew what he was doing. Now think about your own life. Think about the person who means the most to you, your friend, your mother, your father, your wife, your husband.  Imagine that they denied knowing you three times to someone else.  Let me tell you, I would not be a happy or forgiving person if this happened to me.  But, Jesus is not me…thank God for that! Jesus gives Peter an opportunity to redeem himself that morning on the Sea of Galilee.  After fixing the disciples something to eat, Jesus and Peter engage in a dialogue.

Now, if I were Peter, I would be ashamed at my actions.  I would be ashamed at telling others that I did not know Jesus.  I would not even want to look Jesus in the eye.  I am sure that all of us in this Church have felt shame about something in our life, Amen?  Shame is a terrible feeling.  It is debilitating.  It prevents us from acting.  It prevents us from seeing things clearly.  Shame can cloud our vision of ourselves and of other people.  Jesus will not allow Peter to live in shame.  He wants to set Peter free of his shame.  So, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?”  Three times is the same number of times that Peter denied Jesus.  Each response of Peter, “you know I love you Lord” wipes away each time Peter said, “I do not know the man.”  Wow! That is forgiveness, Amen?  That is redemption, Amen?  If this encounter between Jesus and Peter did not happen, we would never hear of the great things that Peter was able to do after Jesus ascended into heaven. The forgiven and redeemed Peter is a different man than the Peter we find at the end of the Gospels.  When shame is taken away, a person can walk taller, be more confident, and take more risks.  Peter does all of these things in the Acts of the Apostles.  The redeemed Peter is courageous and faithful.  That is what God wants for each of us.  God wants us to know and act like we are redeemed, Amen?

But, let’s go back to the dialogue between Jesus and Peter.  Something interesting happens between Jesus and Peter.  Jesus asks Peter, do you love me?  In Greek, Jesus uses the word agape, which is an unconditional love. Peter responds to Jesus, “ Yes Lord I do love you.”  Peter uses the Greek word for love, philo, which is more of a brotherly love.  In his resurrection, Jesus forgives Peter and invites him to a deeper kind of love than he knew before.  Jesus wants Peter’s unconditional love.  Peter continues to respond with brotherly love to Jesus.  But, we can see in the Acts of the Apostles, that Peter was willing to risk his life for the spread of the name of Jesus, that is agape love.  So, the redeemed and forgiven Peter is drawn more deeply into an intimate loving relationship with Jesus.  When we are redeemed and forgiven, that is the kind of love that Jesus wants us to express to him and to others in faith. 

Besides the word play on love, another interesting thing happens in the dialogue between Jesus and Peter.  After each time Jesus asks Peter if he loved him, Jesus responded, Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my lambs.  Interesting! Feeding and tending are the responses that Jesus wants from Peter.  Interesting that the approach with the lambs is feeding, and the approach with the sheep is tending.  So, while tending the flock is important, it is not the most important.  The most important thing is to feed the little ones.  In other words, to nurture them, to help them grow, the tending happens only after the lambs have been fed.  This is an interesting concept for me for leadership.  It is an interesting concept for leadership in the Church.  Feeding is more important than tending….the Church needs to be more involved with feeding than tending.  This is an interesting concept for leadership in a family.  Feeding is more important than tending.  Feed the little one’s so that later on you can pastor them.  The role of the leader is feeding and pastoring, and feeding is more important.  Jesus gives us a great example of how to be a leader in this Gospel, Amen?

So, today is about forgiveness and redemption, love and leadership.  So Church, Do you love Jesus? Feed his lambs.  Do you love Jesus? Pastor his sheep.  Do you love Jesus? Feed his lambs.  When we are forgiven, redeemed, fed and pastored, then we are an Easter people, and we are filled with joy, Amen?

Buenos días Iglesia! ¡Felices Pascuas! Sí, seguimos celebrando los cincuenta días de esta gran temporada de Pascua. ¿Todavía está lleno de alegría? Si ustedes tienen alegría en sus corazónes, gire a la persona a tu lado y decir: "Estoy lleno de alegría"

Bueno, la palabra de Dios hoy nos da una gran razón para estar lleno de alegría. Hoy el Evangelio nos invita a reflexionar sobre el perdón y la redención. Quien aquí en esta Iglesia quiere una segunda oportunidad? Quien aquí en esta Iglesia ha cometido un error? Todas nuestras manos debe plantearse, Amén? Bueno, el Evangelio de hoy nos recuerda que Jesús puede perdonar cualquier cosa y puede tomar nuestra vergüenza de distancia para que podamos vivir nuestra vida como pueblo redimido. Eso es una buena noticia, Amén?

Así que, ¿cómo sucede esto? Volvamos en el tiempo hace unas semanas ya que celebramos el Viernes Santo. Jesús fue arrestado y todos sus discípulos huyeron. El mejor amigo de Jesús y líder de los discípulos, Pedro, negó  a Jesús cuántas veces? Sí, tres veces. No sólo una vez te dijo que no conocía a Jesús, lo dijo tres veces! Una vez es un pequeño error, pero tres veces? Pedro sabía lo que estaba haciendo. Ahora piensen en sus propias vidas. Piensen en la persona que significa mucho para ustedes, su amigo, su madre, su padre, su esposa, su marido. Imagine que ellos negaron que saber tres veces a otra persona. Déjeme decirle, yo no sería una persona feliz o que perdona si esto me pasó a mí. Sin embargo, Jesús no soy yo... gracias a Dios por eso! Jesús da a Pedro la oportunidad de redimirse por la mañana en el Mar de Galilea. Después de fijar los discípulos algo de comer, Jesús y Pedro se involucran en un diálogo

Ahora, si yo fuera Pedro, estaría avergonzado de mis acciones. Me da vergüenza de decirles a otros que yo no conocía a Jesús. Incluso no desee ver a Jesús en el ojo. Estoy seguro de que todos nosotros en esta Iglesia han sentido vergüenza por algo en nuestra vida, Amén? La vergüenza es un sentimiento terrible. Es debilitante. Esto nos impide actuar. Se nos impide ver las cosas con claridad. La vergüenza puede nublar nuestra visión de nosotros mismos y de otras personas. Jesús no permitirá que Pedro a vivir en la vergüenza. Él quiere establecer Pedro gratuita de su vergüenza. Por lo tanto, Jesús pregunta a Pedro tres veces, "¿Me amas?" Tres veces son el mismo número de veces que Pedro negó a Jesús. Cada respuesta de Pedro, "usted sabe Te quiero Señor" borra cada vez que Pedro dijo: "No conozco al hombre." Wow! Es decir perdón, Amén? Esa es la redención, Amén? Si este encuentro entre Jesús y Pedro no fue así, nunca oír hablar de las grandes cosas que Pedro fue capaz de hacerlo después de que Jesús ascendió al cielo. El Pedro perdonado y redimido es un hombre diferente que el Pedro nos encontramos al final de los Evangelios. Cuando se quita la vergüenza, una persona puede caminar más alto, tener más confianza, y tomar más riesgos. Pedro hace todas estas cosas en los Hechos de los Apóstoles. El Pedro redimido es valiente y fiel. Eso es lo que Dios quiere para cada uno de nosotros. Dios quiere que sepamos y actuar como somos redimidos, Amén?

Pero, volvamos al diálogo entre Jesús y Pedro. Sucede algo muy interesante entre Jesús y Pedro. Jesús pregunta a Pedro, ¿me amas? En griego, Jesús usa la palabra ágape, que es un amor incondicional. Pedro responde a Jesús: "Sí Señor te quiero." Pedro usa la palabra griega para el amor, el filo, que es más de un amor fraternal. En su resurrección, Jesús perdona a Pedro y le invita a un tipo más profundo de amor de lo que sabía antes. Jesús quiere que el amor incondicional de Pedro. Pedro sigue respondiendo con amor fraternal a Jesús. Sin embargo, podemos ver en los Hechos de los Apóstoles, que Pedro estaba dispuesto a arriesgar su vida por la difusión del nombre de Jesús, que es el amor ágape. Por lo tanto, el Pedro redimido y perdonado se dibuja más profundamente en una relación amorosa íntima con Jesús. Cuando somos redimidos y perdonados, que es la clase de amor que Jesús nos quiere expresar a él ya otros en la fe.

Además del juego de palabras con amor, otra cosa interesante sucede en el diálogo entre Jesús y Pedro. Después de que cada vez que Jesús pregunta a Pedro si lo amaba, Jesús respondió: Apacienta mis corderos, pastorea a mis ovejas, apacienta mis corderos. ¡Interesante! La alimentación y el cuidado son las respuestas que Jesús quiere de Pedro. Es interesante que el enfoque con los corderos es la alimentación, y el acercamiento con las ovejas es pastorea. Así, mientras que detrás del ganado es importante, no es el más importante. Lo más importante es alimentar a los más pequeños. En otras palabras, para nutrir a ellos, para ayudarles a crecer, la pastorea ocurre sólo después de que los corderos han sido alimentados. Este es un concepto interesante para mí para el liderazgo. Es un concepto interesante para el liderazgo en la Iglesia. La alimentación es más importante que pastorea... la Iglesia tiene que estar más involucrados con la alimentación que pastorea. Este es un concepto interesante para el liderazgo en una familia. La alimentación es más importante que pastorea. Alimentar a la pequeña es para que después puedas pastor les. El papel del líder es la alimentación y pastorear, y la alimentación es más importante. Jesús nos da un gran ejemplo de cómo ser un líder en este Evangelio, Amén?

Por lo tanto, hoy es sobre el perdón y la redención, el amor y el liderazgo. Así Iglesia, ¿Ustedes aman a Jesús? Alimentar a sus corderos. ¿Ustedes aman a Jesús? El pastor a sus ovejas. ¿Ustedes aman a Jesús? Alimentar a sus corderos. Cuando somos perdonados, redimidos, alimentados en pastoreo y, a continuación, somos un pueblo Pascual, y estamos llenos de alegría, Amén?