NOTES for Joh 21:21-25

Does it ever happen that someone fails to notice our good deeds and actions, our self-sacrifice? Yes, in fact, quite often (provided, of course, that we do those good deeds). And what is our first reaction? Despondency, annoyance, the desire to say that we will not do anything anymore. We lose patience and, at best, become sad. But if we think about it, the same thing can be projected onto our relationship with God. Quite often we expect some confirmation of our thoughts and actions, some reward for an uneaten piece of sausage or another ascetic “feat.” But God does not always answer immediately. And our reactions to His silence are, generally speaking, similar to our resentment at the inattention of those close to us. Yet the Lord leaves nothing unnoticed; He sees both what is secret and what is manifest (see Mt 6:4). Moreover, Jesus speaks wonderful words: the Lord who has been glorified in someone will glorify that person in Himself. God simply has His own view of our human time, and He alone knows when a person needs encouragement and when instruction, so that the person may have the opportunity to stand “on his own feet.” The Lord will forget nothing done in His name, and He will receive the one who did it into His Kingdom (see Mt 25:31-40).