“Do You Love Me?” — Feed My Lambs

📖 Today’s Daily Office Readings

1 Corinthians 5:7–8, 15; 15:20–22
Romans 6:9–11
Psalm 148
1 Peter 1:3–4, 18–21; 4:7–11
John 21 15–25

🌅 A Curious Pilgrim Reflection

There is something deeply personal—almost unsettling—about that moment on the shore in John 21. The risen Jesus looks at Peter, not once, not twice, but three times, and asks:

“Do you love me?”

It is not a theological question.
It is not a doctrinal test.
It is a question of the heart.

And each time Peter answers, Jesus responds with a simple but profound command:

“Feed my lambs.”
“Tend my sheep.”
“Feed my sheep.”

🐑 Love That Becomes Action

When we hold that moment up against today’s other readings, something beautiful begins to unfold.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul reminds us that Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for us, and that through Him we are made new. This is not just belief—it is transformation. Old yeast is cleared out so new life can rise.

In Romans, we hear that Christ, once raised, dies no more—and we too are called to “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God.”

Love, then, is not sentiment.
Love is resurrection living.

So when Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” He is really asking:

“Will you live this new life?”
“Will you embody resurrection?”

And the evidence of that love is not words—it is care.

Feed my lambs.

🌎 A Creation That Needs Feeding

Then comes the great chorus of Psalm 148—all creation praising God: sun and moon, mountains and hills, kings and peoples, young and old alike.

It is a reminder that all of life is connected, all of creation is sustained by God’s breath.

And yet, in that same creation, there is hunger.

Hunger for meaning
Hunger for kindness
Hunger for belonging
Hunger for hope

To “feed my lambs” is to step into that world and become part of God’s sustaining care.

✝️ Redeemed for a Purpose

1 Peter brings it even closer:

We have been given “a new birth into a living hope.”
We were “redeemed… not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.”

And then comes the call:

Use whatever gift you have received to serve others.

There it is again—
Love becomes service.
Grace becomes action.
Faith becomes nourishment for others.

🔥 The Question That Still Echoes

So here we are, sitting on our own front porch, holding these Scriptures together.

And Jesus’ question still echoes across time:

“Do you love me?”

Not:

Do you understand everything?
Do you have perfect theology?
Have you never failed?

Remember—Peter had denied Him three times.

And still, Jesus calls him.

Still, Jesus trusts him.

Still, Jesus sends him.

🌱 What It Means for Us Today

To love Jesus is to:

Care for the vulnerable
Offer kindness in a harsh world
Speak hope into despair
Share what we have—whether much or little
Live as people shaped by resurrection

It may look like:

Listening to someone who feels forgotten
Encouraging a weary soul
Forgiving when it is hard
Showing up when others walk away

In a world full of noise, division, and hunger of every kind…

“Feed my lambs” may be the most needed command of all.

🙏 A Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus,
You come to us not with condemnation, but with a question:
“Do you love me?”

You know our failures, our fears, our denials—
and still, You call us.

Give us hearts that love You not only in words,
but in the quiet, steady work of caring for others.

Open our eyes to the hungry around us—
hungry for food, for kindness, for hope, for grace.

Teach us to feed Your lambs,
to tend Your sheep,
to live as people of the resurrection.

And when we doubt ourselves,
remind us that Your call is greater than our past.

In Your holy and loving name,
Amen.

🌿 A Blessing

May you hear the voice of Christ calling your name.
May you answer, even with trembling, “Lord, you know that I love you.”
And may your life become a table where others are fed—
with grace, with kindness, and with the quiet power of love.

Amen.