May 17, Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Daily Readings: Acts 25:13b-21; John 21:15-19
In the first reading, Paul's case captivated King Agrippa. The king, astonished by the absence of any crimes, engaged in a heated debate about their respective religions and Paul's assertion that Jesus was alive. The king instructed Paul to go to Jerusalem because he felt unqualified to handle this matter. Paul requested that the emperor judge him.
In the Gospel, Jesus asked Simon Peter three times if he loved him. Peter automatically answered, "Yes, Lord, I love you." When Jesus asked Peter if he loved him, he simultaneously entrusted him with looking after and feeding his lambs for the third time.
Simon Peter is one of the twelve disciples. When Jesus called Simon to follow him, he changed his name to Peter, whom he called "rock," so that someday he would give him a special job. This is the special job that Jesus is talking about; he entrusted his flock to him, for Peter became the head of the apostles after Jesus died. The three consecutive phrases "Feed my lambs" represent the thrust that Jesus leaves Peter to be the leader of his people.
Leaders give assignments to their subordinates and challenge their capacity to fulfill the task. It is easy to say yes at once but during implementation, there will come a realization that it is not easy at all.
Call to Action for Catholic Living: To have an output means to sacrifice your time, energy, and ability to relate to people. Similar to Peter, he faced the challenge of overseeing the flock and leading the ministry without Jesus's presence.
Lord, help us to fulfill the task that you entrusted to us, Amen.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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