Jesus Tells Us We Need to Be Led. Understand What Surrendering We Must Be Willing to Do For His Love

Jesus Tells Us We Need to Be Led. Understand What Surrendering We Must Be Willing to Do, For the Love of Jesus When you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted to go. When you are older . . . someone else will dress you and lead you to where you do not want to go. These words Jesus speaks to Peter is a foretelling of Peter’s martyrdom. But they are also words to what waits for many of us at the end of our life. As we grow older, we are less capable of doing things we easily did when we were younger. For those that provide care to elderly parents, we experience a role reversal. We dress the ones that used to dress us when we were young. Hear more as to what this means for us within the Homily. It’s good to pause and contemplate this for a moment. The Lord, with these words, is not talking about aging. He is talking about a certain degree of surrender that everyone sooner or later needs to make! In the Gospel, Jesus looks at Peter. Peter is strong and dedicated, but there is something missing. There is an element of discipleship that does not focus on what we can do, but recognize things we cannot do. One cannot do everything. In fact, there is very little one can do unless the person is led. Jesus does indeed talk about aging. Not as a diminishment, but a surrender of the heart. Why? Because love involves surrender. Listen to this Meditation Media on Surrendering. Hear what Jesus does with Peter just before the Ascension. Listen to: Jesus Tells Us We Need to Be Led. Understand What Surrendering We Must Be Willing to Do, For the Love of Jesus -------------------- Image: Christ and the Rich Man (cropped): German Painter: Johann Michael Ferdinand Heinrich Hofmann: 1899 One of three paintings by this artist purchased by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. -------------------- Gospel Reading: John: 21: 15-19