There are two charcoal fires in John's gospel. At the first, it's a chilly spring evening in the high priest's courtyard. When Peter finds a spot to warm his hands, a servant girl asks him if he was one of Jesus' disciples. He's so scared that he lies, then lies again, and then he starts swearing to emphasize his lies. But when the rooster crowed at the crack of dawn, Jesus looks over at Peter. He tried to follow Jesus, but the pressure cracked him. He went out and wept. Now it's a bright morning on the Sea of Tiberias. Peter has spent the night in failure again, unable to catch a single fish. Again, he's warming himself by the charcoal fire. As he eats the fish Jesus provided, and his clothes start to dry, the disciples gather around them. Again, Jesus is looking into his eyes. He asks a simple, devastating question: "Do you love me?" The symmetry is deliberate. Three denials by the first fire are met with three questions by the second fire. I feel for Peter. In front of his closest friends, Jesus is exposing his greatest failure. As bad as Peter felt after he denied Jesus, now he's had to own it, face to face, over and over again. John puts it tenderly: Peter was grieved. Heartbroken. He cracks again: "Lord, you know everything, you know I love you." He's soggy and embarrassed. When I imagine this scene, I think this burly fisherman is holding his head in his hands, the salt of the sea mixing with his tears. Jesus wants Peter to know the restoration is fuller than the failure. He's ready. Now, Jesus can trust him with his sheep. And while the text fixes its attention on him, the implication is the other disciples were restored, too. After all, they ran away before Peter did. My heart aches from the constant parade of fallen celebrity pastors. They wanted to look like spiritual heroes. But Jesus wants humble followers who focus on serving others. Peter grew up going where he wanted, and no one got in his way. Perhaps when Jesus first said, "Follow me," Peter thought, "I've got this." But now that he believes in Jesus, he's different. So when the time comes for him to stretch his hands out and be crucified like Jesus was, he will follow.