Brief synopsis of the readings: Further along in the Acts of the Apostles we see Jesus’ followers standing before the Sanhedrin (Jewish elites) and being scolded. The Apostles had been warned against teaching about Jesus but they continued to do so. Peter replied that their obedience to God was more important than obedience to other humans. Frustrated, the Sanhedrin dismissed them and ordered the Apostles not to mention Jesus’ name. They “left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” In John’s Gospel we see several Apostles gathered on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. Peter announced he would take out the boat and fish and they all agreed to join him. They were out all night but caught nothing. On the shore was a man who asked how they had done; when they said they hadn’t caught anything he suggested they put out the nets on the right side of the boat. They soon caught enough fish that made it hard to pull in the nets and at that point Peter recognized that the man was Jesus. On shore they grilled some of the fish. Jesus then asked Peter three times “Do you love me?” Peter, with increasing frustration, promised he did. And three times Jesus told Peter to “feed my sheep.”

“And they all lived happily ever after.” As children these words marked the end of our favorite fairy tales and showed us that no matter the difficulties, no matter the hardships, no matter the odds, it all worked out in the end. Sleeping Beauty married Prince Charming, Shrek and Fiona married each other. Etienne Navarre and Isabeau married each other in Ladyhawke. And they all lived happily ever after.

When Jesus’ followers learn of his Resurrection they had a variety of responses, but all soon came to believe. They finally understood what Jesus had been telling him: that he would be executed but would rise on the third day and open the gates of salvation to all. And I like to think that they all had this idea that all the Jews, and eventually everyone, would embrace this belief.

I’m not sure if this ever happened but if it did, it didn’t last long. Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows that not all Jews believed that Jesus was the Messiah and this led to great conflict in the first few decades after Jesus’ Resurrection. As a matter of fact, the followers of Jesus were eventually expelled from the Temple, the source and summit of their worship from their earliest days.

So what do they do? Clearly the high priests had an answer: stop talking about this guy, stop telling people he rose from the dead, and get back in line. But instead the Apostles do something incredible. They told the chief priests this: “We’ve always been obedient to you, we’ve always seen you as those with the answers, but we’ve had an experience that commands us to choose another route. From now on we will follow Jesus.” Pretty incredible, isn’t it?

Frankly, most of us grew up as Christians in some form and following Jesus hasn’t cost us very much. We know that the earliest followers of Jesus often faced martyrdom but that isn’t our path. Given that, is it really that hard to follow Jesus?

I suspect it is but in different ways. Former President (and lifelong Christian) Jimmy Carter remembers seeing a billboard that said this: “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” I’m not sure who thought up that slogan but his reward will be great. It was great because it brings front and center something Jesus’ earliest followers well understood. Following Jesus isn’t simply an intellectually assent to an event in history. Following Jesus means changing our lives in a way that encourages others to do the same.

In John’s Gospel Jesus asks Peter three times: “Do you love me?” Three times Peter, with increasing impatience, stated that he does indeed love Jesus. And each time Jesus responds: “Then feed my sheep.” It’s been widely suggested that Jesus asked three times to give Peter the opportunity to respond to the three times Peter denied Jesus. But it also speaks to a greater truth to “feed my sheep.”

As I’ve said, none of us will likely have to sacrifice safety, status, or life for our faith. Those groups certainly exist (I’m thinking of the Copts in Egypt or the Ukrainian Orthodox in Ukraine) but we’re blessed.

But that said we find hungry sheep all around us. Last month I found myself in the San Diego Airport with time on my hands and decided in work on my steps. There I shared an elevator with a woman who had two crutches in her right hand, a bandage on her right foot, and a roller bag in her left hand. She told me that her flight had been cancelled and she needed to “walk” to another terminal to catch her rebooked flight. I offered to wheel her roller bag while she walked on her crutches. She was afraid that she was putting me out but I told her that I needed more steps and she needed to get to her new gate and it was a “win-win.” I’m comforted to know that I got my steps in and she can return home and tell everyone about a nice person in San Diego. She was, for me, a hungry sheep.

When we think of miracles we often assume we perform heroic and supernatural acts. Our prayer cures cancer, our action saves the life of someone in a burning car, or we talk somebody off the ledge of a skyscraper. Those things certainly happen but “feeding my sheep” also includes acts that don’t make headlines.

I suspect we can also look back on times when we spent an evening with a new mother who suffered from postpartum depression and convinced her that she wasn’t a failure and just needed more help. Or the friend whose alcoholism was not a death sentence but an opportunity toward healing.

There are times when feeding hungry sheep will cost us. Those who run programs for the poor are sometimes be called socialists. But let us also look for ways when feeding sheep is a win win.