Feed all people

The Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Friday in the Octave of Easter brings many points of view and symbols to our attention through the chosen texts. The Gentile Christian Evangelist, Luke writes of the arrest of Peter and John by the Jewish authorities largely because of their proclamation that the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple was saved and given back his ability to walk through the power of the Resurrected Christ. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. This claim was offensive and threatening to them. Luke who was familiar with Stoic philosophy is able to see resurrection of the dead in the context of the great plan of God for humanity. FriarJude Winkler notes that the New Testament authors generally use saved as the verb when describing health restoration which is accompanied by praise and thanksgiving to God and healed is the verb used when God is not credited. Psalm 118 is used by Luke to identify Jesus as the stone rejected by the builders was used as a reference to the stone quarry, Golgotha, which Jesus cross was supported by rejected stone, according to Friar Jude. The Gospel of John is an encounter with the resurrected Jesus by Peter and the beloved disciple after they had returned to fishing. John portrays Peter as impetuous and not quick to perceive. The important message is that Jesus chooses Peter to lead the Apostles in spite of his apparent deficiencies. The breakfast which Jesus prepares for them is a link back to the feeding of the loaves and fishes in Chapter 6 of this Gospel. In the account today, the fish is emphasized because Jesus is Present as the bread of life. Greek philosophers held that there were 153 species of fish in the world. The fishers of people are given the mission by Jesus to catch all people.