“Lord, why can’t I follow you now?” - John 13:37
Reflection by Val Hymes
During the Last Supper, Jesus patiently and repeatedly responds to the questions of his disciples. He washes their feet, yet is still being pestered by Simon Peter. Jesus talks to him as if to a little child, saying, “Where I am going you cannot come,” and returns to his primary message, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you.” But Simon Peter doesn’t listen. He persists, demanding to know why he cannot follow Jesus “right now.” Jesus, facing betrayal, torture and death, remains the comforter. He chides Peter, saying, “before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.” But yet he adds, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” And he promises, “where I am, there you may be also.”
How often have I been impatient and failed to listen? Too often. Have I missed messages like this? How often do we push on to ask for our own needs and fail to heed the important message of our Lord’s love and promise of eternal life with him?
I see around me people who can listen. What a blessed gift.
