The last time we encountered Peter was at the lowest moment of his life. Having vowed to stand by his Lord, he ended up denying him with curses before a servant girl in the courtyard of the high priest's residence while Jesus was being harangued by a kangaroo court. At the moment the cock crowed, Jesus glanced at Peter, and Peter went out and wept bitterly.

It's a week or two after Jesus has risen from the dead, and Jesus has made several appearances to the disciples as a group. "I'm going fishing," says Peter. Jesus has just risen from the dead and he's going fishing? Life goes on. There are mouths to feed, bills to pay, and Peter's not one to sit around wondering what will happen next.

All night long the disciples fished, but "they caught nothing." Nothing to show for this bold attempt to resume normal life. Suddenly they hear a voice from the shore, "Friends, haven't you caught any fish?" No! "Try the other side of the boat." A huge catch threatened to rip the net apart. Then they knew: "It is the Lord."

Peter, jumping half naked from the boat, is the first one ashore. Jesus is calmly roasting some fish over an open fire on the beach. He invites them to bring some fish so they can have breakfast together on the beach. I imagine Peter running back and forth, hauling the fish ashore, not knowing what to say or do.

It's Jesus who breaks the ice with a strange and revealing question: "Do you love me more than these?" What, these fish? No, these other disciples. After all, it was Peter who had said, "Even if these others deny you, I will not" (see Mark 14:29 and Matt. 26:33). "So, Peter, do you love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Peter's voice must have choked with emotion. What could he say to prove his love, which had already proved weak and unsteady? He could only ask the one who could look into his heart to see his true feelings for his Lord.

"Feed my lambs," Jesus tells him. But that's not the end of it. Twice more Jesus asks the same question, as though to untie the knots of Peter's threefold denial, knot by knot. The second and third times, Jesus simply asks, "Do you love me?" It's not the whimpering request of the lover who feels rejected; it's the Lord giving Peter an opportunity to declare his love and commitment once more.

Yes, Jesus' questions hurt Peter, but it was a necessary hurt, a gracious and powerful way to reinstate Peter fully into the community of disciples. Peter started out by declaring that he was going fishing, but the risen Lord opened to him a higher calling: "Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep." In other words, be a shepherd in my church.