Episode Transcript  

One

The Final Resurrection Story

The very last resurrection story we get involves three people: Jesus, Peter, and John.

In John chapter 21, Jesus says to Peter, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would: but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go” (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God). After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Remember, this is right after Jesus has asked Peter three times, “Do you love me,” and Peter has, by his triple profession of love, made up for his triple denial on the eve of the passion. Now Jesus is saying, “Beforehand, you were young, and you just did what you wanted, and you fled from the death you bragged you would face for my sake. But when you are older, you will be led on the same path I was led, to be crucified for my glory.”

It’s a beautiful and brutal reassurance: Jesus is telling Peter that now that He has died for Peter, Peter will be able to die for Jesus, just like he had resolved. But then Peter turns and looks at John, the beloved disciple. And Peter asks Jesus, “What about John?” And Jesus says, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!”

That’s a very strange answer Jesus gives, and those are the last words of Jesus that the Gospel reports. What are we to make of them?

Two

Peter and John

Peter and John must have been very close, since they pair up constantly in the New Testament. At the last Supper, Peter asks John to find out from Jesus who the betrayer is. When Jesus is captured, John is the one who manages to get both himself and Peter into the courtyard of the high priest. On Easter Sunday, Peter and John run together to the tomb to see what’s going on. Later on, Peter and John are in the fishing boat when the Resurrected Lord grants them a second miraculous catch of fish. At the beginning of the Book of Acts, Peter and John are in the temple together, and when a lame man is cured in the name of Christ, Peter and John are arrested together and testify before the Sanhedrin.

It’s a remarkable thing that Peter and John were such good friends, because, of course, it’s hard to imagine any two people having more different personalities.

Three

Two Drastically Different Personalities

Peter is clearly the leader and the impulsive one. He’s the one who goes out to walk on water. He’s the one who makes the unthinking suggestion to build three booths on the mountain at Tabor. He’s the one who cuts off a random ear on the night of the Lord’s arrest. He’s the one who, when John recognizes the Risen Christ on the shore, jumps out of the boat and swims to Jesus. And he’s the one, in those first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, he’s the one who does all the talking.

John is quiet, reflective. He’s the disciple whom Jesus loves. He doesn’t say much, but He’s the closest to the Lord Himself. And his love wins through, John alone makes it to the foot of the cross on Good Friday, where he receives the final gift of Jesus’ mother from the cross. And in the end, John’s quiet reflection yields the greatest spiritual insight the world has ever seen: the mystical fourth gospel, the three letters of love, and the astonishing panoramic vision of the apocalypse.

Last, but not least, their deaths will be very different. Peter will be crucified, like Christ. John will die a natural death, the Lord will come for Him peacefully.

These two men are so different, but so united in virtue and in their love of the Lord. And it’s with Jesus contrasting these two men that the gospels come to an end. Why, do you think?

Four

Expanding Christ’s Humanity

After Christ rises from the dead, the age of Christ visible and in the flesh, is coming to an end. The time is coming now for the age of the Church, the age of Christ’s Mystical body, spread throughout the world. And it had to be that way. Because, remember, Christ is fully God and fully man. And Jesus’ divinity is infinite. 

But Jesus’ humanity is finite; it’s a creature, and so it’s something limited, as all creatures are. And because it’s limited, it can’t fully express everything there is to express of the full, infinite richness that’s in Christ.

That’s the paradox: Christ’s limited humanity can’t fully express the unlimited richness that belongs to Christ. So the unlimited richness of Christ finds expression in the humanity of all the members of the Church. Christ’s humanity is very particular. He has a certain eye color, a certain birthday, a certain height, and a certain manner of speech. And Peter had another set of particular characteristics. And John had yet another set of particular characteristics. And the same with the other apostles, and the same with the other disciples. And the same with you. And the same with me. 

What the Church is, is just you and I and every other believer lending whatever is distinctive and unique about ourselves to Christ, so that He can express His unlimited goodness and truth through our limited but irreducibly individual humanity. 

Do you remember when St. Paul says, “It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me”? That’s right, it’s Christ living in Paul, expressing Himself through Paul’s personality (and what a unique, forceful personality it was!). That’s how our uniqueness is a gift to Christ, a gift to the Church. And that ecclesial complementarity-in-difference was reflected way, way back by those two utterly different personalities of St. Peter and St. John.

Five

Don’t Compare: Celebrate

All through the history of the Church, Christ’s superabundant richness has been manifested in the dramatically varied personalities of the saints. Christ’s richness is manifested in feminine militarism, speaking French with St. Joan of Arc. Christ’s richness is manifested in masculine self-sacrifice, speaking Polish with St. Maximilian Kolbe. In the quiet study of St. Thomas Aquinas. In the ecstatic exuberance of St. Francis of Assisi. 

And the danger is that we’ll compare ourselves with those other, unique expressions of Jesus. Just like Peter wanted to compare himself with John, “Will John and I be the same? Will we have the same destiny?” And Jesus says, “Of course not. The whole point is that you will enrich the world by manifesting my goodness differently. Just follow me.”

May we all follow Christ, may we all fulfill our destiny to imitate and express His goodness in our own unique way, and may we celebrate the countless varieties of His human expressions in this beautiful unity called the Church.  

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you.

• Put a stop to comparison in your life. Whenever you find yourself putting yourself down because of the good you see in someone else, remember that God intentionally created you to reflect a unique part of Himself and thank Him for the differences between you and others.

• Think of someone you often find yourself at odds with, spend time reflecting on the unique ways in which they reflect the image of God and the unique strengths and virtues that they have.

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