Homilies

3rd SUNDAY OF EASTER: YES, LORD, YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU!

THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE in John shows the third and last appearance of Jesus after his resurrection. Jesus appears in a very ordinary event in the life of the disciples. They are fishing in the Sea of Tiberias and are frustrated because they have caught nothing. But through the presence of Jesus, they have a miraculous catch.

Let us try to reflect on some important moments in the gospel passage:

First, when the disciples caught nothing, the Jesus who appear a stranger to the disciples, instructs them to “cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” True to his words, the disciples have a miraculous catch of a number of fish. Putting this in the context of evangelization, the Church continues to “cast the net” to the other side. While the “traditional” Catholic nations seem to stop growing or perhaps, most of the members seem to lose their faith, there is much hope in the “other side’ of the globe, like Africa, and some parts of Asia and Oceania. The fishing of men and women continues, and, we hope, with the grace of God, the Church will grow.

Second, like in the previous Sunday gospel passages, there is a mention of the “disciple whom Jesus loved.”  It says, the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” It is this disciple who first believed in the resurrection of Jesus, by the mere fact that the tomb, where Jesus’ body was laid, became empty. In today's gospel, we heard that he was the first disciple to recognize the presence of the risen Lord. Accordingly, the Johannine community esteemed and respected this Disciple because he is the source of inspiration and principle of unity. While other disciples may have failed Jesus, this disciple remained intimate with and faithful to Jesus. In the same way, we need somebody in the community to be our source of inspiration and unity, and more important, a person who can discern and recognize the hand of God in our midst.

Third, let us reflect on the other disciple who gained importance in the eyes of Jesus, that is, Peter. Peter is not a perfect disciple. Some of Peter’s actions must have disappointed Jesus. He had betrayed Jesus. He denied him for three times. But there is a mystery. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, entrusts the community or the Church to this man, Peter, who was a failure. This shows that the call of Christ does not exclude falls. This encounter with the risen Christ has restored the confidence of Peter, and has renewed his faith in him.

The triple question of Jesus has something to do with the triple denial of Peter during the trial of Jesus. Now, this denial has been transformed into a confession of love. The most moving answer of Peter was, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you!” The dialogue of Jesus and Peter is indeed moving. The forgiving Jesus is giving the fallen Peter a chance to restore his dignity and to renew his commitment and love for him. We don’t see this scene often in this life. We seldom forgive people; we seldom give people a chance to restore their fallen dignity when they made mistakes. In the corporate world, we want people to always appear as perfect beings. If they commit mistakes, they are no longer considered an asset to the company. May we learn from Jesus how to be forgiving and compassionate to people who are actually like us: weak, frail and not perfect.

« Back to Homilies Index