3^rd Sunday of Easter (C); May 1, 2022

Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41.  Ps 30.  Rv 5:11-14.  Jn 21:1-19

Deacon Jim McFadden

            We continue to read from the final pages of John’s Gospel which deal with the Resurrection appearances of Jesus.  As we reflect upon them, let us immerse ourselves in the joy of the Lord’s invitation to spread the Good News that he is Risen, he is alive!  He does so by reminding us of two basic things that are parts of our lives as disciples: God calls  and God loves.

            God calls.  Everything takes place in the Sea of Tiberius (aka the Sea of Galilee), where Jesus first called Peter.  He called him to leave behind him his nets, his boat, and even his father in order to become a fisher of men.  What does that mean?  Jesus wants his disciples to fish men out of a sea—people are swimming in something that is not good for them.  In our time and place, that would be a ‘sea’ of secularist ideology in which we seek happiness in the goods of the world.  Peter had embraced that call, but after going through the experience of seeing Jesus die a brutal death, of hearing hopeful news of his resurrection, he seems to be backsliding.  He tells the other disciples, “I am going fishing”

 (Jn 21:3a).  Peter is going back to his livelihood, his autonomy as a fishermen, and is obligations to his family.  The other disciples do the same: “We also will come with you” (v. 3b).  Peter and the disciples  take up their nets that they had left behind for Jesus.  And, who could blame them?  The weight of suffering, disappointment, and betrayal become like a vise crushing their hearts.  They were still carrying pain and guilt, and the Good News of the resurrection had not yet found a home in their hearts. 

            The Lord knows that there is always a strong temptation to return to business as usual.  Has anything really changed?  Is my life radically different because the Lord is Risen?  They go out at night and they catch nothing.  This account just seems so dreary and flat.  The fervor is gone; the spirit is gone.  Where is their life?  Where’s the animation that characterized them when they experienced the Risen Christ in Jerusalem?  Sometimes our life just seems so predictable, if not boring, as we go through the motions of being human.

            Even though everything seems finished—been there, done that—Jesus appears, starts over, and patiently comes to him and calls him ‘Simon’ (v. 15).  This is a subtle point because this is the name Peter received when he was first called.  The Lord does not wait for us to get our acts together before he calls.  He doesn’t wait for a perfect situation or an enlightened consciousness.  He doesn’t expect to encounter people who are whole and well, who are without problems, disappointments, without sins and limitations.  No, Jesus doesn’t call transformed people, but rather he creates them!  You see, brothers and sisters, Jesus himself confronted sin and disappointment head on in order to encourage us to stay with the process of following Jesus.  That’s why the Lord never gets tired of calling us.  The power of his love can overturn our attachment to the goods of the world, of being stuck in the past, of being held captive by the demons of regret and resentment.  Jesus calls us day by day to deepen our love for him and to be renewed each day his refreshing newness and intimate presence.  Each morning as we begin our day, Jesus finds us where we are. He invites us into a conversation in which he reminds us that our ultimate home is heaven, not earth and that we can participate in his divine Life that can overcome any dysfunction, especially sin and death.

            When we welcome the Risen Christ into our lives, we will become fully human, which St. Irenaeus reminds us, “gives glory to God.”  Our Lord calls us to embrace a bright future in which we can experience communion with the Triune God, fellowship with our brothers and sisters, and harmony with all of creation. 

            When Jesus calls, it’s not something that we choose.  Rather, we are chosen.  It is something that is done to us.  The question is: how are we going to respond?  If we answer his call, then there will be a radical shift in our lives because my life is no longer about me, but is about him.  My life no longer revolves around me, but orbits around him and the Kingdom of God. And, he is in control, not me.  At that juncture, I can now experience true freedom and begin the process of experiencing joy that is the infallible sign of God’s presence in my life. 

            Finally, why does God call us?   He does so because God loves.  Love is God’s language because that is God’s nature.  That’s why he asks Peter, and us, “Do you love me?”  And Peter says YES!  After spending so much time with Jesus, he finally gets it: that to love means to stop putting himself at the center of his life.  He now makes Jesus, and not himself, the center becaus “You know everything” (v. 18).  Peter recognizes his weakness and vulnerability; he realizes that he can’t make progress on his own.  So, he stands with the Lord and he’s not going to go back to his old way of living.  His strength now comes from Jesus’ love, to the very end.

            People of God, the Lord loves us.  That’s why he became one of us; that’s why he suffered crucifixion and death.  The Risen Jesus is the source of our strength and we are asked to renew our relationship every day, which is why the Church officially prays the Our Father at Lauds and Vespers during the Liturgy of the Hours.   Being a Christian summons us to realize that God’s love is greater than any human shortcoming, dysfunction, and sin in the world.  One of our great disappointments and difficulty plaguing the Church today comes not from knowing that God is love, but that our way of proclaiming and living  that truth is not credible or convincing to others.  We bear the name of Christ, but for many people they don’t experience Jesus when they are with us.   

            But, we don’t throw in the towel because we know that God is love, a love that bestows itself every moment of our existence, a love that calls us to receive it and to share it with others.  That’s why Jesus told Peter that if you love me, “feed my sheep” (v. 17e).  Let us do that!  Imitating Jesus, let us give our lives away.  Let us be led by his love.  Offering our lives to our heavenly Father, let us be a sign that Jesus is Risen, Jesus is Alive!  Amen.