Commentary on the Gospel of
Appreciative Inquiry
Looks like everybody needs appreciation and affirmation, even the Son of God! It is heartening to realize that Jesus cared for what his own friends/brothers/disciples thought of him. We also find God, the Father, affirming the Son at crucial moments of his life. Now we have Peter, on behalf of his disciples (and the Church) responding with the same affirmation, which Jesus recognizes as coming from his own Father. Jesus needed this affirmation, as much for himself as for the disciples, before he would reveal the destiny of the Paschal Mystery that awaited him. An intervention method currently popular among companies and organizations is “appreciative inquiry” which seeks to affirm what is good, positive, and constructive in people and seek to build on them. How wonderful and healing would it be, if we could apply similar dynamics to our everyday life, to affirm and appreciate those with whom we share our life, whom we normally tend to take for granted!
