Gospel Reflection for Sunday 5th May The 3rd Sunday of Easter
Jesus cooks breakfast on the sea shore!
Sometimes we might be tempted to believe that those who knew Jesus personally in the gospels; the disciples, apostles or even the later saints had everything figured and sorted out. But the gospel today would suggest otherwise. After spending three years with him as he preached and healed, where do we find his closest friends and apostles?
They are not busy with carrying on his mission or ministry; they have simply gone back to their old ways and jobs of fishing! A disciple whose name we are not given sees that it is Jesus standing on the shore speaking to them, which causes Peter to jump from the boat half dressed! What a sight that must have been.
Having caught fish at the command of Jesus, they arrive on the shore and he then offers to cook them breakfast with bread and fish.
They must not have said a lot during the meal but looked at each other wondering what was happening. Then Jesus speaks directly to Peter and asks him three times whether Peter loves him. Peter clearly says that he does love Jesus and is obviously getting agitated and annoyed with this line of questioning in front of the others.
We remember during Holy Week that Peter clearly denied three times that he even knew Jesus. Now Jesus is giving Peter a chance to clear his name and make a fresh start!
This simply reminds us that those who knew Jesus personally and all the following Christian leaders that we look to as examples of faith, were not in fact perfect. They were just like you and me. The men and women who followed and who still follow Jesus are real human beings with all their shortcomings and failings.
Jesus does not choose us because we are perfect and wonderful. Instead, we are called by our name to faithfully follow him as best we can, with all our own faults and humanity. St. Theresa of Calcutta once said, God does not call us to be successful, we are simply called to be faithful!
Jesus called Peter and continues to call each of us today; our task is to follow him. Will there be times when we doubt Jesus? Yes! Will there be times when we will let Jesus down as Peter did?
Yes! When we doubt and deny Jesus, he will there for us as he was for Peter. Jesus did not dismiss or judge Peter for his lack of faith and denial and neither will Jesus deny or judge us when we let him and fail him.
As the great Oscar Wilde reminds us; Every saint was a sinner with a past and every sinner is saint with a future!
– Br Michael Moore
3rd Sunday of Easter
The risen Jesus appears on the shore of Lake Tiberias, and confirms Peter as chief pastor
Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.
But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
