In the film Fiddler of the Roof, there is a heart-warming scene in the kitchen, where Teyva (Teev), the Jewish father of three daughters, teases his wife Golde who has been married to him by parental arrangement for over 25 years. "Do you love me?" he asks with a sheepish grin.
Golde brushes off the question as corny: "You’re upset, you’re worn out. Go inside, go lie down! Maybe it’s indigestion." Undaunted, Teyve pursues his flirting, hunting for some spark of passion: "Do you love me?" To which the good wife answers: "Do I love you? For twenty-five years I’ve washed your clothes, cleaned your house, given you children, milked the cow. After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?"
Golde responded to Teyve’s question by telling him what she had been doing for him for twenty-five years. In the gospel for today, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. Each time, Peter assures Jesus, he does love Him. And each time, Jesus responds by saying, "Feed my sheep." In other words, Jesus is telling Peter to show his love by doing something.
In our first reading, Paul has already been showing his love by doing something: Paul has been preaching that Jesus who died is alive.
It is one thing to say you love someone, but the real test is in what you do. When Golde became Teyva’s wife, her life changed, and she showed her love by assuming the responsibilities of a wife.
When Peter experienced the risen Jesus, he became confident and preached with power. When Paul encountered the risen Jesus, he preached the gospel boldly.
Their vocations changed from fisherman or follower and from tentmaker or persecutor to evangelist preaching with power. Both loved and showed their love by doing what they were asked to do: to preach the gospel and expect persecution. The love of each of them had changed from superficial to sacrificial.
When we love Jesus enough to feed His sheep, we can express our love by offering a cup of water, by giving a piece of bread to fill a hungry stomach, by caring for the sick, by saying a kind word to an aching heart, by giving a soothing smile to one feeling hurt. Then our actions will be speaking louder than our words.
How are we responding to Jesus’ question: "Do you really love me?" What are we doing to show Him we really love Him?
- Father Pinto's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning during Mass at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
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.jpg "Father Pinto Paul, C.S.C.")