Who is this beloved disciple in whom Peter is so interested? We know him as John. More than that, the message that we are supposed to receive here is to remember that the beloved disciple, John, was the first of the apostles to 'believe' in Jesus' resurrection. What does this mean to 'believe'? When John arrived at the empty tomb on the day of the resurrection, "he saw and believed." At the same time we know from the story that he did not actually see Jesus at the tomb. Rather, he remembered what he had been told; the promise. He did eventually meet Jesus with the other apostles. And it was his commission to write down.

At the end of the Gospel, "follow me" is the commission to all believers provided by Jesus Himself. In fact, this is the message of all of the Gospels. To follow Jesus means to believe that He is present to us in our communities. To follow Jesus means keeping our eyes focused on Him rather than comparing our good deeds with those of others. To follow Jesus means to be able to see him in the eyes of those we meet and to share the love that we receive with others. If we let him, Jesus will give us the answer to our most personal question: "What does it mean to follow you, Jesus?"