Readings: Acts 5:27-32; Rv. 5:11-14; Jn. 21:1-19
The Lord Always Provides
1. I am convinced that Christ rose from the dead. The Catechism states: "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 that He is truly '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"(1Cor 15:13-14). On that first Easter Sunday, Peter and his companions experienced the risen Christ as they never expected, which changed their lives. 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 are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God had given to those who obey Him." (First reading). A few days ago, this same Peter could not stand up to a young girl and admit that he knew Jesus.
2. Peter was a fascinating person, in my opinion, which endeared him to Jesus – the crass humanity of Peter. And this also makes the person of Peter appealing to us too. We can identify quickly with him. Peter was impetuous! Now he confessed the divinity of Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Mt. 16:16); soon after, he tried to prevent Jesus from accepting the will of His father, to which he was reprimanded by Christ to "get behind me Satan." Yet, there was an undeniable friendship between Jesus and Peter. Their friendship was so strong that just a look from Jesus communicated to 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 returns to his trade: fishing. By saying "I am going fishing," could mean that he was returning to the profession he was good at, or he was simply bored and needed to distract himself from the thought of having betrayed his friend and the constant reminder of the look of Jesus. If he was not adept at fishing, how would he be a fisher of men! Unfortunately, Peter, in my opinion, was not very good at fishing either. His first encounter with Jesus was when he was at 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). Their second encounter was when Jesus met Peter and his companions during the fishing expedition and enquired: "Children, have you caught anything yet?" "No." He said to 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 did not catch anything 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 recalled their last encounter with Jesus when they had worked all night long and caught nothing and how 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 (Christ) was better at Peter's trade than Peter; hence he should learn another business with the help of the master himself. Many times, we think we know it all. We often 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 to do all that 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." (Jn. 15:16). Unworthy as we are, God chose us as he did the prophets of old and the Apostles. When we sin, he waits for us to turn back to Him confessing our sins and he is always willing to forgive us. 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 committing adultery (Jn. 8). He reached out to Peter at the sea of Tiberias; caring, cooking a meal for his friends, providing fish for their upkeep; he gave them encouragement and hope and offered them forgiveness and love. He does the same for us. Yes, it is the Lord; he is the only one who appears when all hope is gone, he 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.
5. Jesus knew Peter more than Peter knew himself. He knew Peter loved him, but he wanted Peter to say so himself. 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 own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers." (Lk. 22:31-32). Christ knew that Satan had his eye on Peter. He knew that Peter would deny him at the moment of weakness; therefore, Christ was back to make it right. And so, he asked him three times, ‘do you love me.’ “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Peter was right! Christ knew everything; he knew Peter loved him.
6. So, we pray that we may not forget that the Lord always stands at our shores, loving, instructing, watching, and looking out for us. He has a meal prepared for us. May we not forget our relationship with him when tempted to run away from the Lord. May we have the courage to say with Peter, Lord, you know everything, you know we love you. Please pray for us as you prayed for Peter that our faith might not fail, strengthen us at the moment of our weakness so that 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 turn back to you. Amen.
Augustine Etemma Inwang MSP
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