3^rd Sunday of Easter (C); May 4, 2025

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 pages of John’s Gospel which recounts the third time the Risen Christ appears to the Apostles.  It is a meeting that takes place in the Sea of Tiberius (aka the Sea of Galilee) and above all involves Simon Peter.  In their first encounter Jesus had called him to leave behind his nets, boat, and even his father in order to become a fisher of men.  But in today’s Gospel account, it begins by Peter saying to the other disciples: “I am going fishing” (Jn 21:3).  There was nothing strange about this since this is what fishermen do: they go fishing.  But Peter had abandoned this work in order to follow Jesus and now he seems to be back-sliding.  Why the regression?

            The Lord knows that there is always a strong temptation to return to business as usual, to revert to our old way of living.  But has anything really changed in my life radically because Jesus is Risen?  Perhaps Peter is disheartened, so he proposes to others that he return to his former way of life.  And the others go along it as they say, “We will go with you” but that night they caught nothing (v. 3). 

            Brothers and sisters, it can happen to us as well.  Out of weariness, disappointment in our lives, perhaps out of laziness, we forget the Lord in our ordinary experience and we neglect the great promises we made at our Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, or Holy Orders.  Rather than continue our absolute surrender to Jesus, we settle for something else.  The Good News of the Resurrection has not yet found a home in our hearts.

            And what does Jesus do with Peter—what does he do with us?  He returns to the place of the original encounter, the shore of the lake where he had chosen him.  He does not get on Peter’s case—Jesus never reproaches us; instead, he touches our heart—but he calls the disciples tenderly: “Children” (v. 5).  Then he invites them, just as he had done before, to cast their nets again, but this time with conviction.  And once again, the nets are filled to overflowing.

            People of God, when our nets are empty in life, let us not fall into a pity-party, to distract ourselves with mindless entertainment or scrolling the internet, to return to our old way of living.  The Easter season is a time to begin anew with Jesus.  It is a time to “throw our nets into the deep,” to have the courage to renew our relationship with our Lord. 

            We all have to deal with disappointment of some kind.  As former President Jimmy Carter once said, “Life isn’t fair.”  Sometimes life can lose its flavor or worse has lost its meaning and we feel that we’re going backwards.  But today we can set out again with Jesus; we can start again—today is a new day—in which we can put out into the deep!  He is waiting for us; he is thinking and holding in his Heart each one of us.

            Peter needed to be shaken from his doldrums; he needed a jolt.  When he heard John cry: “It is the Lord” (v. 7), he immediately dives into the water and swims towards Jesus, which seems crazy but that’s what love does because love goes beyond practical considerations, convenience, or duty.  Instead, love generates wonder, reverence; it is inspiring, releasing creative energy, and freely given zeal: as we move, live, and have our being in the Risen Christ, we will become on fire! 

            Today, the Risen Christ is inviting each one of us to dive into a deeper relationship with him without the fear of losing something, without calculating whether a total commitment is worth it.  To fall in love with Jesus is to take a risk: it is to go out on a limb and to give my life way which Jesus did at the Washing of the Feet on Holy Thursday and on Calvary on Good Friday.  Am I going to listen to the deepest desire of my heart or content myself with comfortable, predictable routine? Or do I jump in, dive in?   This is the challenge of Jesus today.

            Then at the end of this episode, Jesus asks Peter three times “Do you love me?”  Jesus is asking us the same question, which gets to the heart of our Catholic faith which primarily is not about doctrine or commandments, but is about a relationship with a Person, Jesus, who is both divine and human.  Our faith is not about a religious information but about love.  Do you love me?  If we do, we will dive into the deep.  That’s what Peter did.  From then on, he stopped fishing forever and dedicated himself to the service of God and his brothers and sisters.  Like his Lord and Master, Peter gave his life away right here right now.  And what about us?  Do we want to love Jesus?

            May our Lady, who readily said “yes” to the Lord, help us to rediscover the impulse to dive into the deep and love God with our whole heart and soul.  Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you sometimes revert to your old way of living?  What does that look like?
2. Sometimes life can lose its flavor.  How do you restart your relationship with Jesus?
3. Jesus asked Peter and us: “Do you love me?”  How do you respond?

How is that shown in the way you live your life?