When I reflect on the New Testament stories about the Risen Christ, I am always struck by the image of Jesus running after His disciples. Jerusalem is abuzz with His Crucifixion – the city is obsessed with a man claiming to be the Son of God. Although Pilate has dispatched extra security to guard the tomb of Jesus, the grave is now empty! What is happening?! Who is in charge? Government officials and religious leaders alike are on edge, trying to maintain some semblance of control. The disciples, fearing for their own lives, have scattered.

In the midst of this chaos, the Risen Jesus goes running after His disciples, wanting them to understand everything that has happened. When Jesus first appears to his Eleven disciples, this is what He says:

“’Why are you troubled, and why do questionings arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, He said to them, ‘Have you anything to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate before them.” Luke 24: 37-43

As the Risen Jesus returns to His disciples, He spends time helping them to connect these recent events to Scripture and to the visions of the ancient prophets:

“’These are My words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled … you are the witnesses of these things.’” Luke 24: 44, 48

At this point, Jesus’ disciples must decide whether they will believe Him. They must decide to let go and to surrender to the plans Jesus has for them, and for all of us:

“’Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father.’” John 14: 12

As Andrew Greer and Randy Cox so aptly describe in their memorable book Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth, the prospect of surrender can be difficult and confusing:

“Surrender’s definition often gets entangled with the modern implications of being submissive (which, when skewed, can enable oppression). But submission within healthy parameters – or within divine permission – advances genuine freedom. The privilege of surrender is the liberation to simply (though often self-complicatedly) let go. When we finally relinquish our obsessions, our pride, our white-knuckled need to control, we unbind the chains and unlock the door to our true potential, benefitting not only ourselves but also our entire circumference of community.1”

I love their words: “The privilege of surrender is the liberation to simply … let go.”

So I return to the Sea of Tiberias, by the morning fire Jesus has prepared on the shore. It is here that we witness the powerful surrender of Peter.

Jesus asks Peter three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” (John 21: 15-17) His questioning of Peter is notably reminiscent of the scene in the high priest’s court where Peter denies knowing Jesus three times, following Jesus’ arrest in Jerusalem. (John 18: 15-18, 25-27) There is no doubt that Jesus is testing the resolve of Peter to carry on His earthly mission of redeeming souls.

But Jesus also knows that His beloved friend and confidant, Peter, is still distraught over the fact that he actually denied knowing Him. Because of this, I imagine that Jesus also showers Peter with much mercy, that morning. As Peter affirms his love for Jesus three times over, perhaps Jesus has this to say:

I love you so much, Peter. Let go of that scene in the high priest’s court, and drop all that shame you feel over what happened. Forget it. I know that is not who you are – everyone sitting around this fire knows that. There was so much chaos and confusion after I was arrested. Things were moving so quickly. You did not even fully understand all these things that had to happen. But now you see and understand everything. So let go of the past, and move forward with Me, okay?

Peter and all the disciples must have been filled with such joy and relief, as they spoke with Jesus that morning. Their hearts and minds must have just been bursting with the knowledge of how much Jesus loves them. In witnessing the forgiveness and surrender of Peter, they understood that they, too, could trust in the Divine Mercy and Love of Jesus.

Jesus loves all of us so much. Trust in His Mercy. Surrender your ideas and plans to Him and let Jesus help you to pick out the pieces that can be combined with His ideas to create the most goodness.

I was so afraid of surrendering my heart to God at first. I feared that I was not good enough for Him. I feared that I would fail Him, or myself, or others. The truth is that there are days when I still fear all these things. When my fear rises up, I run right back to Him. This is all part of our journey, learning to navigate the uncertainties of our lives and our faith, while surrendering the things we hold deeply within our hearts.

It is hard to wrap our minds around the fact that God will never stop loving us. Here on earth, we regularly experience the loss of love. This Easter season, I hope Jesus increases, within each of us, our understanding of His Divine Mercy and Love. One of the last things Moses tells us, right before he dies, is that God will never leave us nor forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31: 6) Within that same passage, Moses also reminds us to be strong and courageous.

Can we trust in the Mercy and Love of Jesus?

Are we ready to let go of the things that keep us from knowing Jesus more deeply?

“I believe our behavior, no matter how abhorrent, could never capture the essence of who we are, nor could any achievement, no matter how glorious, fully characterize how much we are loved. So give it up, my friend. The shame you carry from those relationships and circumstances that were in and out of your control – hand it over. The trophies you worked so hard to earn in order to obtain favor and acceptance from your peers, your family, from yourself – lay them down. They are not who you are. Through the practice of surrender we discover the stunning perspective of heaven – we are beloved by God.2”

Jesus loves you so much.

1Andrew Greer and Randy Cox, Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth (Tennessee: Worthy Inspired, 2017), 126.

2Ibid, 127.