Love Me as You Can: Jesus Meets Peter Where He Is
Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter // May 22nd, 2026 // John 21:15-19
Today’s Gospel is a beautiful story of how Jesus meets us where we are at; He does what He has to in order to be close to us. First, it is important to understand the difference between two different types of love: agape and philia. Agape love refers to a sacrificial, life-giving love. Philia love refers to the type of love one feels in a close friendship, often characterized by loyalty and emotional bonding. In verse 15 of today’s Gospel, Jesus asks Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter responds by saying “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” When looking at this dialogue in Greek, we see that Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him in an agape way; Peter responds by telling Christ that he loves Him in a philia way. Again in verse 16, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him in an agape way, and Peter once more says he loves Jesus in a philia way. In verse 17, Christ finally asks Peter if he loves Him in a philia way, and Peter of course says that he does. Distinguishing between the types of love here helps us to notice that Jesus was willing to meet Peter where he was at because He loves Peter that much. Of course Christ wanted Peter to love Him with a life-giving love, but since Peter wasn’t willing to say that, Christ was willing to get on his level so as to continue to be close to him in the way that was possible.
We may also notice that in today’s Gospel, Peter does reaffirm his love for Jesus three times. Previously, he had denied Jesus three times before His Crucifixion. Jesus is giving him the chance to make up for this, and as we have discovered, He meets Peter where He is at while doing so. God will always meet us with His infinite mercy. We must also be open to talking with Him too.