1) As all of us are acutely aware, the whole world is in great turmoil, because of the pandemic. Our nation as a whole is currently reeling under its impact, causing untold suffering to millions of people, due to loss of life and livelihood. Families, churches, and society at large have to come to terms with this new reality. Death is no
longer a distant reality to us but has become an everyday occurrence all around us and amidst us. For many individuals and families, this means rebuilding their lives afresh, without losing hope. Whether directly affected by the pandemic or not, all of us are called to live out our lives as Christians, i.e., disciples of Jesus Christ, in this volatile situation, both at the personal level and corporate or congregational levels.
What does Jesus’ command, “Feed my lambs/sheep,” mean in this context? What does it entail for us as His disciples? In the Johannine narrative, it was a task entrusted to Peter as a representative disciple, while reinstating him in the service of the crucified and risen Lord. It was certainly not meant to be a solo performance or one-man show by Peter, as it were. In John’s Gospel, it is clear that the risen Jesus sends all His disciples with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit into the world in His mission (Jn. 20:21).
What light does Jn. 21: 15-19, then, provide us in this regard, in view of our present-day context? We may briefly consider the following points:
2) In this passage, two different verbs are used for the task entrusted to Peter: “feeding” and “tending.” These are taken from the pastoral life situation of raising and tending the sheep flocks and are used as a metaphor for the Christian mission & ministry, both inside and outside the institutional church. In fact, in the ministerial sense, “tending” is a much broader term than “feeding,” as it refers to caring for others comprehensively in a holistic manner. What, then, is the need also for retaining the verb “feed”?
One of the real dangers for us is that of spiritualizing everything thereby neglecting the physical and mental well-being of the needy. As the Gospels clearly testify, Jesus did not neglect the physical and mental needs of people—either their hunger or their ailments, including their anxiety and broken-heartedness, while addressing their spiritual needs. Feeding, thus, includes both feeding with the Word of God and the Eucharistic meal, as well as meeting the physical and mental needs of the people. In this passage, John tells us that Jesus first lovingly feeds His renegade and disheartened disciples with the breakfast that He Himself had lovingly prepared for them, before He proceeds to entrust the task of feeding and tending the “flock of God,” to Peter, representing the entire band of His disciples. Jesus’ compassion for the hungry is well attested in the Gospels (Mt. 14:16; Mk. 6:37; Lk. 9: 13; cf. Mt.25: 31-46; also, James 1:27, 2: 15-17).
The Russian Christian thinker Nikolai Berdyaev’s aphorism,” The question of bread for myself is a material question, but the question of bread for my neighbour is a spiritual question” which is worth mulling over. 3) Who all, then, needs to be fed and cared for? In broad terms, it applies to anyone who is in need (cf. Lk.10: 25-37). In the world of the Bible, pastoral imageries and metaphors abound. Mentioning both lambs and the sheep indicates that the Christian ministry is directed towards both young and old. This concern is also not to be confined to those who are already in the fold. Jesus makes it clear that He has other sheep (and lambs) outside the sheepfold, which also need to be brought in (Jn. 10. I6). God’s generosity is extended to all in Jesus Christ: He came for all; He laid down His precious life for all. The Gospel of Jesus knows no bounds.
4) The task of feeding is a collective responsibility of the whole church—of all Jesus’ disciples—and, as noted above, Peter must be seen here as a representative disciple. It has to be holistic because, as humans, we are not disembodied ghosts, but embodied souls and ensouled bodies simultaneously and integrally. Ministry has many facets and aspects, and individual disciples can and need to focus on one or two aspects, while the church as a whole, needs to be concerned with all aspects. This calls for coordination and good understanding with one
another, where cooperation and not competition is the guiding principle. A pastor or presbyter is there primarily to coordinate and oversee things, but the mission and ministry have to be carried out as a corporate responsibility of all (cf.1 Cor. 12: 4-31; Col. 3: 16-17). In view of the present pandemic, the church has a special
responsibility to open up its heart and hands to the best of its abilities and possibilities to those who are out of a job, or struggling to pay their hospital bills, or acutely suffering from loneliness and mental distress, or being on the verge of losing faith and hope because of becoming overwhelmed with the sudden and unexpected turn of things, including suffering and death in the family, among relatives & friends, among congregation members, and, in fact, all around.
Due to the pandemic, children are becoming orphaned, and even relatively young people are suddenly losing their spouses. At such a time, interceding for others is an important ministry. But prayer cannot become a substitute for what we need to do for others. Christian intercession is being drawn into and participating in the
high-priestly intercession of our Lord, and of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8: 26-27). Prayer brings us closer to God’s heart, coming to know what God’s love truly is, and empowers us to do what we are called to do compassionately and lovingly. Along with other ways of concrete support and assistance to the needy and the suffering, professional Christian counselling will be of special help at a time like this, and the churches now need to pay more attention to this aspect of ministry than ever before. Families and congregations need to become healing agents. Calling people over the phone and talking to them or conversing with them through other available means is also helpful, as face-to-face meetings under the present circumstances are not feasible.
Christian ministry takes on new forms and includes new facets in a given context. As disciples of Jesus, we must be open to the God-given new possibilities. God does not demand from us what is beyond our abilities and resources. Mother Theresa once said: “ If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” This applies
to other aspects of Christian ministry as well.
5) How do we, then, become qualified to carry out the ministry of feeding and caring for others? Peter had failed miserably as a disciple of Jesus Christ. He was cocksure that his allegiance to Jesus was unshakable. For this, he totally relied on his wisdom and strength. But he fell. However, when Jesus’ eye met his, Peter “remembered” and wept bitterly for his failure.
Jesus confronts him and helps him to go beyond his momentary weeping and to come to his senses, so that he could now make a fresh start on a new basis and move on. For this to happen, Peter had to first realize where he truly stood in relation to his Master and Lord: in and through the conversation with Jesus, he comes to a point
where he realizes that he is not able to honestly say that he truly loves Jesus more than others and all other things, but is just content to say: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I have affection for you (philō se). With this realization, he stops comparing himself with other disciples.
He now knows and acknowledges his weakness. He knows he will not be able to truly love Jesus, relying on his own strength. Why, then, is loving Jesus more than others and everything else so important to share in Jesus’ ministry as His disciples? This is because, as disciples, we are called to love even those who may not be very loveable, or also those who hate us and work against us. It also includes a willingness to let go of our comforts and the readiness to carry the cross. To love and
lovingly care for one another and also others become possible only when we stand not on our own strength to love, but rely on God’s grace that strengthens us to love. This transformation takes place in us when we ponder on the immensity of the love with which Jesus has loved us (Gal, 2:20; cf. Lk. 7:47). Peter, therefore, abandons himself into the loving and caring hands of the Lord. He becomes empty of self-righteousness and self-centredness and is ready to be filled by the grace of God, which is all-sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9). From then on, it is the power of Jesus Christ that empowers him—and all of us—to do what we are called to do (Phil.4:13). Peter is now purged of his guilt, as the Lord embraces him with His accepting and forgiving love (Rom. 15:7). He no longer stands on the sand-bed of his aims and goals, strengths and strategies, but on the rock-bed of God’s
enlightening and empowering love and grace. It is this love that will enable him to remain faithful even until death. This is what following the Good and the Chief Shepherd entails. In contrast to the commercial shepherding, the Good Shepherd does not seek to profit from the sheep but lays down his life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11,15).
Following Jesus, with this understanding and commitment, Peter stands out as an exemplification or paradigm of Jesus’ followers, being a repentant and transformed person, entrusted with the task of feeding and tending his flock, without any discrimination.
6) Caring for the lambs and the sheep, however, does not make us owners of the flock. Jesus refers to lambs and sheep unmistakably as “my lambs” and “my sheep.” They belong to him. Therefore, the ministry of “feeding and tending” needs to be carried out with a great sense of responsible stewardship (cf. Ez. 34; Acts 20: 28-35; 1 Pet. 5: 1-4) At the same time, this is something joyous and has to be done with thankful hearts. For, as Paul makes it clear, we all have received a share in this ministry because of God’s mercy (2 Cor. 4: 1). This is what is required of the church that is in the mission of Jesus Christ at all times—the church as a band of disciples, baptized into the mission of Jesus, in order to carry it out in season and out of season.
Rev. Dr. O.V Jathanna
Prof. Of Systematic Theology (Retd.)
Bangalore.
