I remember as a young boy I could not wait for the day when my father would let me finally take the lawn tractor all by myself and mow the lawn. I’ll never forget the first time, during the spring of the year that he finally let me cut the grass on my own. I was so excited and so happy with myself. But then just a few days later, as you might say, a real growing up moment took place. My dad saw me and said, “Boy, get that tractor out; that lawn ain’t gonna cut itself!” Well that’s when it really hit me. Just like that, something I had wanted to do for so long, suddenly became something I had to do. And not only did I have to cut my own lawn, I had to cut my grandmother’s lawn, which was right next door, as well. I quickly learned that I better had cut my grandmother’s lawn when I was supposed to do so, or else there would be consequences. Unpleasant consequences! Eventually, I came to realize that I should mow her lawn not just to avoid punishment, but because it was the right and just thing to do. Further down the road, I think I even matured beyond that. I think I can say that eventually I cut her lawn, not to avoid getting into trouble or even because it was justifiably and logically the right thing to do. I believe I came to the point where I could honestly say that I cut my grandmother’s lawn because I loved my grandmother. I tell this story because it reminds me of a lesson which I believe comes from the Gospel story we just heard.
One (of the many lessons) that comes from this story is that Jesus needs Peter to do His will—so that His Kingdom might be built up on earth. But He doesn’t want Peter to “feed His sheep” just because he fears the consequences of not doing so (Do you love me?). Nor does He want Peter to ‘feed His Sheep” even because he has realized that is the right thing to do (Do you love me?). Jesus wants Peter to follow Him because he (Peter) loved Jesus-just like I came finally to realize that the reason to mow my grandmother’s lawn was that I loved her. And there it is folks: true discipleship is and always will be a matter of the heart.