Scripture Reflections
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
Revelation 5:11–14
John 21:1–19
One of the questions that people, especially teenagers or students, often ask me is, “Who is your favorite saint?” Without hesitation, my favorite saint is St. Peter.
Growing up, when I went to Mass, I remember always being intrigued when Peter was part of the Gospel passage proclaimed at Mass. However, my real introduction to St. Peter started when I joined the Hermandad de Jesus Nazareno (brotherhood of Jesus the Nazarene). This brotherhood is the group of men in charge of carrying on their shoulders the different life-size images of Jesus that depict the various moments of his Passion, Death and Resurrection, or statues of Mary or the disciples. When I joined, I was assigned to carry the image of St. Peter, which my grandfather and uncle also carried in the different processions through the streets of Pamplona during Holy Week.
All of us in the brotherhood needed to learn about the image we carried, which is usually assigned for life. Then my love for St. Peter grew because I got to know the passionate, emotional, impulsive guy, especially the guy who loves the Lord!
I believe that saints pick us! We may think that we pick a particular saint to have a devotion to, but I believe the saints pick us first to help us grow closer to the Lord. I like the tradition that before receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the candidate picks a saint. Who is your Confirmation saint? Who is your favorite saint?
But now, let us talk about the Gospel passage for this third Sunday of Easter. Peter, who seems to need to be doing something, decided to go fishing, and the other disciples joined him. A lot of scholars of Sacred Scriptures tend to agree that this “going fishing” was not just for fun, but was a way to return to the old way of life. It is kind of strange for me — I mean, they have seen the Lord at least two times before, but they are kind of lost without a mission. They are used to seeing and following Jesus; they are used to Jesus telling them what to do, but Jesus is not physically present with them, telling them everything, so the temptation was to go back to do what they know to do: fishing. However, they are not successful at all without Jesus!
Then Jesus appears on the shore just across from where the disciples are fishing. He acts like a guy out for a stroll, asks if they had any luck, suggests they try one more spot, and reproduces the catch that caught them all by surprise. Watch how Peter responds: “The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.” (John 21:7) They are a hundred yards offshore. That’s the length of a football field, a long way to swim, especially in a full-length robe. It would be like trying to swim wrapped in a blanket. Peter doesn’t care. He doesn’t wait for the boat, forgets about the fish and goes as quickly as he can. Picture him swimming, thrashing, gasping for air, then stumbling ashore as fast as he can to get to Jesus. Here, the Gospel does not tell us what happened when Peter got to the shore. Do you think he slowly approached Jesus and said, “Hello, Master, may I approach?” Peter is a passionate, emotional, impulsive guy. He just swam a hundred yards in his garment. I’ll bet he ran right up to Jesus, sopping wet, and hugged him, soaking the risen Lord. It brings tears to my eyes to think about it.
Let us be like Peter, no matter if we seem unworthy, let us run to the Lord! Let us give him a huge hug! Let us rejoice to see the Lord! You may be asking “How can I hug the Lord?” What if I tell you that you can do something greater than hugging Jesus? Before I tell you what I am thinking, let me tell you about another saint, or soon-to-be canonized saint: Carlo Acutis. I just went to see the movie “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality” with some of the teens from our youth ministry of St. Robert and Holy Family parishes. There is no doubt the love that Blessed Carlo Acutis had for the Lord present in the Holy Eucharist. He said, “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.” And “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”
I don’t think it is just a mere act of kindness that the Lord wanted to eat with the disciples when he appeared to them. He shared his Body and Blood with them. What a privilege that we are invited to receive him in Holy Communion! Come to Mass and encounter the resurrected Lord!
