1st Reading Acts 5: 27b-32, 40b-41
Psalm 30:2 & 4, 5-6, 11-12 & 13b (R. 2a)
R:// "I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up"
2nd Reading Revelation 5: 11-14
Gospel John 21:1-19
GRACIOUS OPPORTUNITIES
Happy New Month!
Friends, we are in May, the fifth month of the year. Whatever is associated with the number 5 comes with Grace. Five is the number of Grace. It is the reason why Jesus multiplied 5 loaves of bread for 5 thousand people. This is the gift of God. The month of May could be seen as a month of grace. Additionally, as Catholics, we should use this month to seek many graces from God as the month of May is the month of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is the Rosary Month. We should use this delightful avenue to draw closer to God while imploring Mary's intercession because never was it known that anyone who fled to her for protection or sought her intercession was left unaided.
Today, being the 3rd Sunday of Easter, our Gospel passage is from John 21: 1-19. This is actually the ending portion of John's Gospel. It is one of Jesus' post-resurrection encounters with his apostles. This time, he appears to seven of them who went fishing. Let us highlight a few details from the passage.
The first thing is that Peter said, "I am going fishing" (Jn. 21: 3). We only have to go back to Luke 5, the narrative of the call of Peter, to recall that Peter is a fisherman. In fact, he was working on the Sea of Gennesaret when he was called. The narrative of today says that Jesus revealed himself to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias (21: 1). The Sea of Gennesaret and the Sea of Tiberias refer to the same place. Fishing is Peter's primal occupation. This is his 'former life'. The first conception of anyone when hope is not yielding fruit is the risk of returning to one's former life.
The situation is that it is at his workplace that Peter is called to follow and, in fact, be a Fisher of men. His task was formally and clearly defined. Now that Jesus is risen, what becomes of him? Is his mission of fishing men over? He wants to go back to his 'former' way of life. It is always an opportunity for us to sit at the stand at those places where we made our fundamental choice for Jesus. In those places, we reaffirm our stance to continue following. The risk is that you may end up getting back to your former life. Always watch out that the lure of your former life does not take you away from reaffirming your followership.
The second detail is that Peter recognised the Lord in a familiar way. In Luke 5: 4-7, Jesus asked Peter to "put out into deep water and lower [their] nets for a catch." This was when they were not getting anything. They did, and they had a great catch. Similarly, in John 21, having caught nothing, Jesus tells them to "cast the net over the right side of the boat and [they] will find something" (v. 6). They did it, and they had a great catch. Therein, Peter recognised Jesus: "It is the Lord" (v. 7). Having come to the place of his first encounter with Jesus, he never forgot the sign of that encounter. He remembered.
Friends, moments are there when we risk moving back to our 'former' lives. Getting back only takes remembering the sign of encounter with the Lord. Therefore, always keep in mind how Jesus called you, not only where he called you. It will help you get back on track. Pay attention to Peter's disposition. He is ready to listen and obey. He obeyed the voice of one who was not fishing, and the result was great. Obedience to God's command, in the light of day, brings success.
The third detail is that they were fishing in the night (21:3). That is known to be the best time for fishing. They had nothing. The motif of light and darkness sweeps through the Gospel according to John. This reminds us of Genesis 1:3: "Let there be light, and there was light". In fact, the author tells us that there was darkness over the face of the deep (Gen. 1: 2). Genesis and John's Gospel relate in dealing with the motif of light and darkness. They also relate in talking about the "beginning" (Gen. 1:1; Jn. 1:1). Notice that before anything continues, light has to come to the fore. In John, Jesus, the Word, will be the light that shines in the darkness, and darkness could not overcome it (Jn. 1:5). Later, in Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, Jesus said that "the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light" (Jn. 3: 19).
Coming back to the narrative of today, we hear that the disciples toil all night, in the darkness, but they catch absolutely nothing. This is John’s way of telling us that any venture undertaken in darkness will end in futility. Darkness in this context is a way of speaking about being alienated or cut off from God. It should sound clear to us that a life alienated from God, or any adventure that does not have God in it, ends up in utter futility.
The final detail is that when they climbed out upon realising that it was Jesus, "they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread" (Jn. 21:9). Let us focus on the CHARCOAL FIRE, and the Greek word translated is "anthrakian". Remember that in John 18:18, one of the places that Peter denied Jesus was around a CHARCOAL FIRE. The same Greek word, "anthrakian," is translated there as a charcoal fire. It is a similar opportunity that has been given to Peter to rewrite his denial and turn his denial into acceptance of responsibility. Three times he denied Jesus; three times he answered the questions of Jesus. He answered three questions around a charcoal fire.
Beloved, what the Charcoal fire teaches is that Peter has yet another opportunity to use to become a good version of himself. The opportunity is around the same conditions — a charcoal fire. What we could pick from this detail is that daily God offers us the opportunity to rewrite our wrongs. He uses the same situations in which we denied him. He wants us to use those same conditions to return to him. Let us also learn to offer people opportunities to rewrite their wrongs and return to us.
Pax et Bonum
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