Do You Love Me More Than Your Failure?

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Gospel today is one of the most personal conversations in all of Scripture. Jesus does not stand before Peter as a judge. He stands before him beside a charcoal fire – the only other time we hear about a charcoal fire in John’s Gospel is the night Peter denied Him three times.

That detail matters. Because Jesus is not just having breakfast with Peter. He is bringing Peter back to the place of his greatest failure. And isn’t that exactly what God does with us? We spend so much energy trying to avoid our failures, hide our weaknesses, and pretend we are stronger than we are. But Jesus is never afraid of the places we are ashamed of. He walks directly into them, not to humiliate us, but to heal us.

Three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” Not, “Why did you fail?” Not, “How could you betray me?” Not, “Can I trust you again?”

Only this: “Do you love me?”

Because Peter probably thought the biggest thing about him was his failure. But Jesus reveals that the biggest deepest thing about Peter is in fact NOT his sin but it is his capacity to love.

A lot of us define ourselves by the worst thing we have done. We carry guilt like it is our identity. We think our anger, addiction, weakness, impurity, selfishness, or fear is the final word about us. Jesus says otherwise. The Resurrection means failure is never final. Peter denied Jesus publicly, painfully and repeatedly. And yet Jesus still calls him. Still trusts him. Still gives him a mission: “Feed my sheep.”

Imagine that. The first pope was not chosen because he was flawless. He was chosen because he knew what mercy felt like. And maybe that is exactly why Jesus could use him. Because people who know mercy become merciful. People who have been forgiven become forgiving. They become humble. Real. Compassionate. Then Jesus says something hard: “When you were younger, you used to go where you wanted. But when you grow old, someone else will lead you where you do not want to go.”

In other words: love will cost you. That is the uncomfortable truth of Christianity. Jesus never promised a comfortable life. Real love always involves sacrifice. A parent waking up at 2 am for their child. A spouse remaining faithful when it is difficult. A priest serving people when exhausted. A person forgiving when pride wants revenge. Love stretches us beyond ourselves.

But the real question of this Gospel is not whether Peter loves Jesus. The question is: can Peter believe that Jesus still loves him? And maybe that is the question for us too.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know the places where we have failed, the moments we are ashamed of, the parts of ourselves we try to hide. Yet You still ask us, “Do you love me?” Teach us to trust in Your mercy more than our guilt. Give us courage to follow You. And remind us that our failures are never greater than Your grace. Amen.

– Homily by Rev Fr Patrick Agbeko