7th week in Easter Time, Friday – 06th June 2025 – Acts 25,13b-21; Jn 21,15-19
Profound Deepening
When Jesus speaks to Peter, He uses the imagery of age and strength, “Peter when you were young … Peter when you are old” (Jn 21,18). Various traditions have used many metaphors to make this differentiation clear: beginner and proficient, novices and initiated, milk and meat, letter and spirit, juniors and seniors, baptized and confirmed, apprentice and master, morning and evening. This metaphor of Jesus offers a profound glimpse of our Spiritual journey as we become the followers of Christ. It serves as a sobering reminder of the surrender and humility we require to move forward in our faith. Spiritual writer Richard Rohr divides life into two distinct halves: the first half focused on building identity, relationships, and careers, and the second half marked by losses, transitions, and the potential for deeper spiritual understanding. These two halves are cumulative and sequential, and both are very necessary. The experience of hardships and failures in the second half of life, though perceived often as negative, becomes a powerful catalyst for spiritual growth and a deeper connection with God and a more authentic understanding of oneself. In the divine economy of grace, sin and failure become the base metal and raw material for transformative spiritual experiences. In this spiritual awakening, each one moves with passion beyond the human need of comparison, external validation and support.
