Readings:
Acts 5:27-32; Rev. 5:11-14; Jn. 21:1-19
Lord,
you know We Love You, but we are weak!
1.
I am convinced that
Christ was raised from the dead without a doubt. The Catechism of the Catholic
Church states that “Christ’s resurrection is the fulfillment of the
promises, both of the Old Testament and of Jesus Himself during his earthly
life. The resurrection of the crucified one shows He was the true ‘I Am,’ the
Son of God and God Himself. Christ’s resurrection is closely linked to the
Incarnation of God’s Son and is its fulfillment in accordance with God’s
eternal plan” (CCC nos. 652, 653). St. Paul said it better, “If
there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And
if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too,
your faith” (1 Cor 15:13-14). On that first Easter Sunday, Peter and
his companions experienced the risen Christ as they never expected to, which
changed their lives’ trajectory. The spirit of the risen Lord emboldened Peter
to stand up to the Sanhedrin and accuse them of being responsible for Christ’s
death. “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised
Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at
his right hand as leader and Savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness
of sins. We witness these things, as is the Holy Spirit God gave to those who
obey Him.” (First reading). This is the same Peter who, a few days ago,
could not stand up to a young girl and admit that he knew Jesus.
2.
In my opinion,
something fascinating about Peter endeared him to Jesus – Peter’s crass
humanity makes his person appealing to us. We can identify easily with him.
Peter was impetuous. One minute, he confessed the divinity of Jesus, “You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Mt. 16:16); the next
minute, he tried to prevent Jesus from accepting the will of His father, to
which he was reprimanded to “Get behind me, Satan.” However,
there was an undeniable friendship between Jesus and Peter; the friendship was
so strong that just a look from Jesus told Peter that he had betrayed that
friendship and hurt their relationship. According to William J. Bausch in
‘Story Telling the Word,’ “The scene of two men in a silent confrontation in
the palace courtyard tells us the real meaning of Christianity. When you come
right down to it, it is a living relationship with a living Person. It is
always and forever the relationship of redeemed human beings with the person of
Jesus Christ in faith, trust, forgiveness, and love – in all the ways that one
person is bound to another.”
3.
In today’s Gospel,
Peter is returning to his trade: fishing. His statement, “I am going
fishing,” could mean that he was returning to the trade he thought he
was good at, or he was simply bored and needed to distract himself from the
thought of betraying his friend and the constant reminder of the look of Jesus.
Could it mean Peter doubted catching people for the kingdom as Christ commanded
him? If he was not adept at fishing, how would he be at catching people?
Unfortunately, Peter, in my opinion, was not very good at catching fish. His
first encounter with Jesus was when he was on his duty post, trying to catch
fish. To the request of Jesus to “Put out into deep water and lower your
nets for a catch,” his answer was, “Master, we have worked hard
all night and have caught nothing, but at your command, I will lower the nets”
(Lk. 5:5). For the second time, Jesus met Peter and his companions again during
his fishing expedition and enquired: “Children, have you caught anything
yet?” “No.” So he told them, “Cast the net over the right side of
the boat, and you will find something.” (Jn. 21:3-6). When they caught
so many fish, John exclaimed, “It is the Lord.” How could they,
who caught nothing throughout the night, be so lucky just because a stranger
had told them to cast the nets on the other side of the boat? John could recall
their last encounter with Jesus when they had worked all night long and caught
nothing. Christ had told them what to do before they had their boats filled
with fish. It had to be the Lord. Christ showed Peter and his companions that
they could do nothing apart from him. He demonstrated to Peter that he (Christ)
was better at Peter’s job than Peter himself; hence, Peter should learn another
trade with the help of the grand master himself. Many times, we think we know
it all. We often try to keep God out of our lives. But Christ tells us, “Apart
from me, you can do nothing”. God provides us with the strength,
energy, and wisdom we need to do all we do and succeed in them.
4.
Whenever we run away
from God, he comes in search of us. “It was not you who chose me, but I
who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that
whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you” (Jn. 15:16).
Unworthy as we are God chose us as he chose the prophets of old and the
Apostles. When they sinned, he forgave them and waited for them to turn back to
him. He shows us the father’s love in the story of the prodigal son (Lk
15). He demonstrates his forgiveness in the story of the woman caught in the
act of committing adultery (Jn. 8). He reached out to Peter at the sea of
Tiberias, still caring, cooking a meal for his friends, providing fish for
their upkeep, giving them encouragement and hope and offering them forgiveness
and love. Yes, “It is the Lord”; he is the only one who appears
when all hope is gone, refreshes us when water is dried up, and the rain
refuses to fall. The Lord brings healing and strength to our failing bodies and
restores us to wholeness when we are sick. “What I am sure about tomorrow is
that providence will rise before the dawn” because it is the Lord.
5.
Jesus knew his friend
Peter more than Peter knew himself. He knew Peter loved him, but he wanted him
to say it with his mouth. After all, he had told Peter, “Simon, Simon,
behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that
your faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen
your brothers” (Lk. 22:31-32). He knew that Satan had put his ugly
hands on Peter, and at the moment of weakness, he denied Christ. Christ was
back to make it right. Christ asked him three times, ‘Do you love me?
“Lord, you know everything; You know that I love you.” Yes, Peter was
right; Christ knew everything; he knew that Peter loved him.
6.
So, we pray that we
may not forget that the Lord stands always at our shores, loving, instructing,
watching, and looking out for us. He has a meal prepared for us. When tempted
to run away from the Lord, may we not forget our relationship with him. May we
have the courage to say, like Peter, Lord, you know everything; you know we
love you. Please pray for us as you prayed for Peter, so our faith may not
fail. Strengthen us at the moment of our weakness so we may not betray you.
Help us to see the look of love in your eyes so that we may weep for our sins
and return to you. Amen.
Augustine Etemma Inwang MSP
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