Today’s readings place us in two courtrooms and one lakeside breakfast. The First Reading from Acts 25 shows Paul before Roman governors, explaining why he appealed to Caesar. The Gospel from John 21 shows Peter beside a charcoal fire with the risen Christ, answering the same question three times. One man defends himself before human judges; the other is restored by the Judge who already knows his heart.
What today’s readings give us
In Acts 25, Paul stands before Festus and King Agrippa, on trial for preaching Christ crucified and risen. Luke records the governor’s bewilderment: the Jews accuse Paul of breaking religious law, but Paul insists he has done nothing worthy of death. The courtroom drama will stretch across three chapters of Acts, ending with Paul’s journey to Rome.
The Gospel takes us back to John 21, after the Resurrection. Peter has returned to fishing. Christ appears on the shore, makes breakfast, and then asks Peter the same question three times: “Do you love me?” Each question restores what the three denials broke. The charcoal fire echoes the fire in the high priest’s courtyard where Peter said, “I do not know him.”
The line worth carrying with you
John records that Peter was “grieved because he said to him the third time, Lovest thou me?” The King James rendering preserves the sting. Peter wanted to move past his failure. Christ made him walk through it three times, not to wound but to heal. Each “Feed my sheep” was a commission, not a condemnation. Christ gave Peter his vocation back in the same measure Peter had denied it.
Paul in Acts defends himself with forensic precision. Peter beside the fire does not defend himself at all. He simply says yes three times, and Christ rebuilds him. The two scenes teach us that Christian witness requires both clarity before the world and humility before the Lord. Paul’s courtroom speeches and Peter’s lakeside breakfast are both apostolic work.
For today
If you have denied Christ in small ways this week, read John 21:15-19 slowly this afternoon. Let the repetition of Christ’s question sit with you. He does not ask once and move on. He asks until the restoration is complete. Then he says, “Follow me.”
Today’s full readings are at USCCB.
