The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to imagine Christ moving through the Spirit in our lives to transform our experience of daily action to connection with His Presence.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes Peter and John before the Council.
* [4:1] The priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees: the priests performed the temple liturgy; the temple guard was composed of Levites, whose captain ranked next after the high priest. The Sadducees, a party within Judaism at this time, rejected those doctrines, including bodily resurrection, which they believed alien to the ancient Mosaic religion. The Sadducees were drawn from priestly families and from the lay aristocracy.
* [4:11] Early Christianity applied this citation from Ps 118:22 to Jesus; cf. Mk 12:10; 1 Pt 2:7.
* [4:12] In the Roman world of Luke’s day, salvation was often attributed to the emperor who was hailed as “savior” and “god.” Luke, in the words of Peter, denies that deliverance comes through anyone other than Jesus. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 4, n.d.)
Psalm 118 is a Song of Victory.
* [Psalm 118] A thanksgiving liturgy accompanying a procession of the king and the people into the Temple precincts. After an invocation in the form of a litany (Ps 118:1–4), the psalmist (very likely speaking in the name of the community) describes how the people confidently implored God’s help (Ps 118:5–9) when hostile peoples threatened its life (Ps 118:10–14); vividly God’s rescue is recounted (Ps 118:15–18). Then follows a possible dialogue at the Temple gates between the priests and the psalmist as the latter enters to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice (Ps 118:19–25). Finally, the priests impart their blessing (Ps 118:26–27), and the psalmist sings in gratitude (Ps 118:28–29).
* [118:22] The stone the builders rejected: a proverb: what is insignificant to human beings has become great through divine election. The “stone” may originally have meant the foundation stone or capstone of the Temple. The New Testament interpreted the verse as referring to the death and resurrection of Christ (Mt 21:42; Acts 4:11; cf. Is 28:16 and Rom 9:33; 1 Pt 2:7). (Psalms, PSALM 118, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee.
* [21:1–23] There are many non-Johannine peculiarities in this chapter, some suggesting Lucan Greek style; yet this passage is closer to John than Jn 7:53–8:11. There are many Johannine features as well. Its closest parallels in the synoptic gospels are found in Lk 5:1–11 and Mt 14:28–31. Perhaps the tradition was ultimately derived from John but preserved by some disciple other than the writer of the rest of the gospel. The appearances narrated seem to be independent of those in Jn 20. Even if a later addition, the chapter was added before publication of the gospel, for it appears in all manuscripts.
* [21:2] Zebedee’s sons: the only reference to James and John in this gospel (but see note on Jn 1:37). Perhaps the phrase was originally a gloss to identify, among the five, the two others of his disciples. The anonymity of the latter phrase is more Johannine (Jn 1:35). The total of seven may suggest the community of the disciples in its fullness.
* [21:3–6] This may be a variant of Luke’s account of the catch of fish; see note on Lk 5:1–11.
* [21:9, 12–13] It is strange that Jesus already has fish since none have yet been brought ashore. This meal may have had eucharistic significance for early Christians since Jn 21:13 recalls Jn 6:11 which uses the vocabulary of Jesus’ action at the Last Supper; but see also note on Mt 14:19.
* [21:11] The exact number 153 is probably meant to have a symbolic meaning in relation to the apostles’ universal mission; Jerome claims that Greek zoologists catalogued 153 species of fish. Or 153 is the sum of the numbers from 1 to 17. Others invoke Ez 47:10.
* [21:12] None…dared to ask him: is Jesus’ appearance strange to them? Cf. Lk 24:16; Mk 16:12; Jn 20:14. The disciples do, however, recognize Jesus before the breaking of the bread (opposed to Lk 24:35). (John, CHAPTER 21, n.d.)
Nancy Shirley feels that Jesus had great trust in and affection for John – He asked him to care for His mother and knew she would receive much love and compassion from John since that was his very nature.
Like so many, I had heard of the series, The Chosen, but had never seen it. So, right after Ash Wednesday, we decided to binge watch the three seasons currently available. It seemed a fitting way to start Lent and remember the stories prior to the crucifixion. I am well aware that liberties were taken with the “back stories” of the various apostles and that unknown facts were filled in with what may or may not be accurate. However, it did bring a life to each of the apostles and instilled a desire to learn more about this time and the journeys with Jesus. It allowed me to enter into the gospel in a new way. I have a sense of each apostle as a unique person not just a follower as one might be in a cult. Rather, men and women with unique needs and quirks, failings and successes – all with the faith to follow Jesus and to have the great privilege of seeing Him in action. To experience the awe, the power, the adoration of the crowd and the turning of the crowds against Jesus. It brought me back to some of my questions and wonderment as a child – I loved seeing movies and reading books about the time of Jesus and the early Christians. I read The Robe, Quo Vadis and saw whatever epic movies there were at the time. I often wondered what kind of follower would I have been. Would I have hidden during the crucifixion or stood with Mary and John? Would have I believed in the Resurrection even if I had not seen the Risen Christ? (Shirley, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Resurrected Bodies,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The bodies of the righteous at the resurrection will need neither any fruit to preserve them from dying of disease or the wasting decay of old age nor any bodily nourishment to prevent hunger and thirst. For they will be endowed with such a sure and inviolable gift of immortality that they will not eat because they have to, but only if they want to. Not the power but the necessity of eating and drinking shall be taken away from them... just like our Savior after his resurrection took meat and drink with his disciples, with spiritual but still real flesh, not for the sake of nourishment, but in an exercise of his power." (excerpt from City of God 13.22) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 21:1-14 comments that at every Mass, Jesus invites us to come and eat. Rather than a simple breakfast of bread and fish, he wants to nourish us with his own Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity! He wants to move our heart with so much joy that we will want to run to meet him every chance we get.
This Sunday, ask Jesus to help you anticipate and appreciate the great gift of the Eucharist. Ask him to help you get ready to receive him. Be like Peter and don’t let anything hold you back. Don’t take his presence for granted. The Holy Spirit can open your eyes and fill you with wonder and awe at his presence.
“Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Eucharist. Help me to receive you with joy.” (Meditation on John 21:1-14, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the confrontation of Peter with the elders and Sadducees who believed that Yahweh alone could save. Chapter 21 of John, likely by the same author as the ending in Chapter 20, adds necessary content on authority in the Church. Friar Jude explains how 153 fish is symbolic of our role to share the Good News with all people in the world.
Rob Marsh SJ, a tutor in spirituality at Campion Hall, University of Oxford, imagines what might have been going through the minds of a disillusioned Peter as he returned to plying his trade, and an expectant Jesus as he prepared breakfast for his unsuspecting friends.
I’ll find them. I’ll keep on finding them. Finding them and feeding them. Breaking the bread for them. Having one name me, another rush like a fool to reach me, and all the rest to follow and eat and laugh and sing around the fire, the taste of fish on their lips, all hungers satisfied as they share the broken bread and wine dark as … (Marsh, 2018)
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the apostle Paul teaches that the resurrection confirms what the incarnation anticipates—Christ is another name for every thing.
This, I think, is why the people who witnessed these apparitions of Christ seemed to finally recognize him, but not usually immediately. Seeing and recognizing are not the same thing. And isn’t this how it happens in our own lives? First we see a candle flame, then a moment later it “blazes” for us when we allow it to hold a personal meaning or message. We see a homeless person, and the moment we allow our heart space to open toward them, they become human, dear, or even Christ. Every resurrection story seems to strongly affirm an ambiguous—yet certain—presence in very ordinary settings, like walking on the road to Emmaus with a stranger, roasting fish on the beach, or one who appeared like a gardener to the Magdalene. [1] These moments from Scripture set a stage of expectation and desire that God’s presence can be seen in the ordinary and the material, and we do not have to wait for supernatural apparitions. We Catholics call this a sacramental theology, where the visible and tactile are the primary doorway to the invisible. This is why each of the formal Sacraments of the church insists on a material element like water, oil, bread, wine, the laying on of hands, or the absolute physicality of marriage itself. (Rohr, 2023)
We trust that Jesus is present in the daily activities that reveal hope and charity on our journey.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 4. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/4?1
John, CHAPTER 21. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/21?1
Marsh, R. (2018, April 5). Casting the net. Thinking Faith. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/casting-net
Meditation on John 21:1-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/04/14/656481/
Psalms, PSALM 118. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/118?1
Rohr, R. (2023, April 14). Seeing and Recognizing Are Not the Same — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/seeing-and-recognizing-are-not-the-same-2023-04-14/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Revealed Himself Again to the Disciples. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=apr14
Shirley, N. (2023, April 14). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/041423.html
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