The Lord appeared once again to his disciples after his
resurrection, and questioning Peter, who from fear had thrice denied
him, extracted from him a threefold declaration of love.
Christ had been raised to life in the flesh, and Peter to life in
the spirit; for when Christ died as a result of the torments he
endured, Peter was also dead as a result of denying his master.
Christ the Lord was raised from the dead; Christ the Lord raised up
Peter through Peter’s love for him. And having obtained from
him the assurance of that love, he entrusted his sheep to
Peter’s care.
We may wonder what advantage there could be for Christ in
Peter’s love for him. If Christ loves you, you profit, not
Christ; and if you love him, again the advantage is yours, not
his.
But wishing to show us how we should demonstrate our love for him,
Christ the Lord made it plain that it is by our concern for his
sheep. “Do you love me”? he asked. “I do love
you.” “Then feed my sheep.” Once, twice, and a
third time the same dialogue was repeated.
To the Lord’s one and only question, Peter had no other answer than “I do love you.” And each time the Lord gave Peter the same command: “Feed my sheep.” Let us love one another then, and by so doing we shall be loving Christ.
Christ, the eternal God, was born in time as man. A true member of the human race, he appeared as one of us; but as God in human form he performed many wonderful signs.
As a human being, he suffered much from other human beings; but as God in human form he rose from the dead.
For forty days he lived on earth as one of us; then, before the eyes of his disciples, he ascended to heaven, where, as God in human form, he is now seated at the right hand of the Father.
We believe all these things, though we have never seen them; we are commanded to love Christ the Lord, whom we have never seen. And we all cry out and say that we love Christ.
But listen to John’s words: “If you do not love the brother that you can see, how can you love the God you cannot see?” It is by loving the sheep that you show your love for the shepherd, for the sheep are the members of the shepherd.
Indeed, it was to make the sheep into members of his own body that the Lord became one of them himself, that he allowed himself to be led like a lamb to the slaughter, and that he allowed the Baptist to point him out and say to him: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Surely a crushing burden for a lamb!
But that lamb possessed tremendous strength. Do you wish to know how
much strength was in this lamb? Because the lamb was crucified, the
lion was overcome. If he could vanquish the devil by his own death,
think with what power he is able to rule the world! May nothing,
then, ever be dearer to us than Christ the Lord; let us love him
with all our hearts.
Sermon 229N, 1: PLS 2, 579)
Augustine (354-430) was born at Thagaste in Africa and received a Christian education, although he was not baptized until 387. In 391 he was ordained priest and in 395 he became coadjutor bishop to Valerius of Hippo, whom he succeeded in 396. Augustine’s theology was formulated in the course of his struggle with three heresies: Manicheism, Donatism, and Pelagianism. His writings are voluminous and his influence on subsequent theology immense. He molded the thought of the Middle Ages down to the thirteenth century. Yet he was above all a pastor and a great spiritual writer.
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