I can’t quite get used to these new textual mechanics, er, so to speak. In any case here we go again.
I was thinking about the image of following when, God above, it finally occurred to me to see how the Gospels deal with it. I read Mark’s brief account first, then turned to my favorite Gospel, John. Here is the NRSV account:
And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Peter is responding to Jesus question as to whether Peter loved him. Jesus asks three times, thus, I assume paralleling the three times Peter fearfully denied him around the campfire and before the crucifixion. The quote starts with Peter’s third affirmation and includes Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s future suffering and death. My primary concern here, of course, is with how Jesus ended the image: “Follow me.” The next part of the text recounts Peter’s asking about John, the beloved disciple and the author of the Gospel:
20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!”
Artistically, it seems to me, the second order or command is perfect and necessary for what is being communicated here. The first “follow me” is clearly directed to Peter; the text makes that very clear: “Peter, follow me!” The repetition of the order shortly thereafter, in my understanding, makes it universal. Clearly, succinctly, he says, directed to all of us whom, like John, he loved and who now like, Peter, love him: “Follow me!” The rest of the text not only reveals the command but puts it in the context of love
Writing is interesting. I had not noticed the way the passage worked until I started following up (pun intended) the idea of following Jesus based on the theological facts (ha!) of the Ascension of Jesus and the Assumption of Mary. Writing has always been for me not only a means of communication but also an exciting means of discovery. Unfortunately, God forgive me, I spent too much of my life, like a magpie, pursuing and collecting bright shiny objects and other stuff, and not enough time writing especially for discovery, since writing always worked for me that way. Have an insight into a delightful text and attempt to communicate that insight and go from there. And so I did, but not often enough.
Image: From apod.nasa.com. 3/19/24 A Picturesque Equinox Sunset Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Dyer, Amazingsky.com, TWAN
