Third Sunday of Easter, 2025

I've been reading Pope Francis’ autobiography; a book that has been feeding me spiritually.

Within my reading, I came across words of his that very much relate to today's Gospel.


Pope Francis writes, 


“I am a sinner like everyone else…A brutal sin against love is that of disowning someone. There’s a person you love, and you reject them, you treat them as if you do not know them. They love you and you push them away…Therefore, rejecting God is one of the worst sins that exists. And yet Saint Peter committed that very sin: He disowned Jesus Christ…and they made him pope! Setting eyes on Jesus once again changed his heart and his life, more than before…What more can I add? Nothing. I move onward. I journey. Onward!”


Pope Francis’ words and Jesus’ reconciliation with Peter highlight the paradox of how something very bad can actually be turned to benefit us. Why? Because God can use even our sins to benefit us. Obviously, that doesn't mean sinning is good. It would be better if we didn't sin, but there is always a way back to God.


Looking back on my life, even though I have made very poor decisions, God was somehow still able to bring me to the place where I am today. I have learned tremendous lessons from my past, and one of the lessons is that God can use everything about our past to benefit us.


Think about your life; think about some of the maybe very regrettable things that you have done, but if you stayed in relationship with God, or returned to God, you can see that there are beautiful fruits that God was able to draw from our failures and turn them into blessings.


I mean, just think about the story we just listened to: Peter, one of Jesus' closest disciples, betrayed Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. He had three chances to say, “Yes, I am a follower of Jesus.”…And Jesus was still able to accept Peter back. What a beautiful story of sin turned into reconciliation that we Christians, 2000 years later, are able to benefit from. We paradoxically benefit greatly from Peter's denial because of what God was able to do with it after. We benefit greatly from Peter’s sinfulness. Again, not that sin is good, but God can even draw good out of that. 


That's how good God is. That's how powerful He is. That’s how much God loves you. And that's what God can do with your life and my life all the time. 



Scripture readings for this day: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050425.cfm

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