Third Sunday of Easter Year C
Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19
The Acts of the Apostles supplies the first reading for Masses of the Easter season. We see the Apostles begin to follow through with the mission entrusted to them. We see the men who abandoned Jesus the night before He died now speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
Jesus testified before the Sanhedrin; the Apostles are questioned by the same council. They were told to stop teaching in Jesus’ name. Peter responds boldly: “We must obey God rather than men.” This is the Mission given to them by Jesus that they are to pursue, following Him to the end. Peter proclaims the kerygma, the preaching of the paschal mystery, the key message of the Gospel: “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 has given to those who obey him.”
Realizing that they cannot move the disciples of Jesus to cease, the Sanhedrin sends them off, repeating the order that has been “disobeyed” in favor of obedience to the Risen Lord. The disciples depart, “rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” The mission entrusted to the first disciples of Jesus is already beginning to flourish. The Sanhedrin, at the start of the proceedings, admitted that “you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.” Now, the disciples themselves have begun to learn the cost of following through, and they rejoice.
The Acts of the Apostles recounts how the mission continues to grow from Jerusalem to Samaria and to Rome, even as their willingness to pay the price through suffering continue to increase. The Church is formed in men and women of faith who do not shrink from proclaiming the truth.
In the Book of Revelation, John recounts his vision of how the Gospel will reach its culmination in all of creation sharing in the capacity to worship the Living God. Human beings drawn into this mystery, and along with them, every creature glorifies and worships God. “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in the universe, cry out: ‘To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.’ The four living creatures answered, ‘Amen,’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”
What can account for this transformation? How did the Apostles become so bold in their proclamation and willingness to suffer for the name of the Lord? Today’s Gospel shows us how. The call of Peter is renewed by His walk along the shore with the Risen Lord after a breakfast supplied by Jesus and the Apostles working together.
Jesus repeated the miraculous catch that first alerted Simon to His power; when the disciples came ashore, they saw that some fish were already being prepared on a charcoal fire. “Jesus said to them, ‘Come, have breakfast.’” The meal was shared, including some of the fish they just caught.
After the meal, Jesus spoke to Peter’s heart: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Three times, the question is put to him, always at a deeper level. Jesus is asking, “Will you love Me as I have loved you?” and giving Peter a chance to complete his repentance for the denial that happened at another charcoal fire. When Peter responds with his whole being, Jesus tells him how his own life will be poured out and gives one last invitation: “Follow me.”
As we continue the journey through the Easter season, we are invited to follow Jesus, the Risen Lord, giving Him our all. We must consider whether we are willing to follow through with our commitment to the end, accepting suffering and rejection “for the sake of the Name.” As we mourn the death of Pope Francis, we pray that the Mission of the Church to proclaim mercy and hope will continue in our time.