20210409 FINDING ENCOURAGEMENT IN MISSION AND MINISTRY
09 April, 2021, Easter Friday
First reading | Acts 4:1-12 © |
The name of Jesus Christ is the only one by which we can be saved
While Peter and John were talking to the people the priests came up to them, accompanied by the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees. They were extremely annoyed at their teaching the people the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead by proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. They arrested them, but as it was already late, they held them till the next day. But many of those who had listened to their message became believers, the total number of whom had now risen to something like five thousand.
The next day the rulers, elders and scribes had a meeting in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, Jonathan, Alexander and all the members of the high-priestly families. They made the prisoners stand in the middle and began to interrogate them, ‘By what power, and by whose name have you men done this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them, ‘Rulers of the people, and elders! If you are questioning us today about an act of kindness to a cripple, and asking us how he was healed, then I am glad to tell you all, and would indeed be glad to tell the whole people of Israel, that it was by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the one you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name and by no other that this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy, here in your presence, today. This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone. For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 117(118):1-2,4,22-27 © |
The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’
The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Ps117:24 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
This day was made by the Lord:
we rejoice and are glad.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 21:1-14 © |
Jesus stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish
Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ They replied, ‘We’ll come with you.’ They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night.
It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in. The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’ At these words ‘It is the Lord’, Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.
As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. Jesus said, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’; they knew quite well it was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.
FINDING ENCOURAGEMENT IN MISSION AND MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 4:1-12; PS 118:1-2,4,22-27; JOHN 21:1-14 ]
We can imagine how Peter and John must have felt after healing the crippled man. They saw the power of God at work in their lives through Jesus. But for “an act of kindness to a cripple”, they were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin who felt threatened by their teaching on the resurrection, particularly of someone whom they had just condemned to death. The Chief priests and the Sadducees did not accept the doctrine of the resurrection as it was not found in the Torah but in the oral traditions of their fathers, which the Pharisees accepted. In spite of being interrogated, they were not ready to give in to the obstacles placed by the authorities of doing good in the name of Jesus.
Unlike the apostles, many of us give up easily in witnessing for Christ or serving Him when we are opposed and challenged. This is true for priests and religious even. We are disillusioned that for the sacrifices we make, the good we do freely and generously without counting the cost, we are met with persecution from without, and from within, jealousy, competition, betrayal and slander because of politicking and the desire for recognition and power. In many situations, our lay volunteers would just step down and resign, wipe the dust off their feet and move on to serve in other religious and charitable organizations. For priests, they would retreat and just do the minimum, and give up their zeal in serving the Lord and His people.
But sometimes we give up our mission and ministry because of the mistakes and follies we committed. We feel sinful, guilty and inadequate to continue. We cannot forgive ourselves and feel unworthy to continue serving God. This was the case of Peter. He had betrayed the Lord when He was arrested, denying Him three times before the Chief priest’s servants. He was utterly ashamed of himself. When the Lord turned and looked at Peter, he remembered the words of the Lord, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times”, and “he went out and wept bitterly.” (Lk 22:61f) Since then, he could not forgive Himself and he was not too sure whether the Lord had forgiven Him for his betrayal, more so when he was appointed to be the leader of the Twelve.
Many of us cannot forgive ourselves for the mistakes we made, and the sins we committed. The devil will remind us that we are no longer worthy to serve Him. Just like the world today, when someone in office or anyone does something wrong, he or she is condemned by the social media, and his or her name will forever be sullied in the minds of the people. Condemned, that person would never be given a chance to redeem himself or herself. This is how the devil works in the world today, driving people who made mistakes to hell by causing them to be rejected by society and then falling into deep depression, and eventually suicide.
How, then, can we find the strength to resist persecution and opposition, and encouragement to deal with our own failures in leadership? Like Peter, we must take time out by going to where we are most comfortable and do what we are good at doing. That was what Peter did. He told his close friends, “I’m going fishing.” Indeed, this was what he was doing before he dropped the nets to follow Jesus. Perhaps he felt unfit to be a disciple, much less a leader of the Twelve. So going fishing would be the best option. We too must do that as well. We need to take a break and go to a quiet place to be with ourselves or to do things that will uplift us whilst we spend time thinking through our unsettled issues, fears and brokenness.
But what was also very significant was the response of his friends. They replied, “We’ll come with you.” In such moments as these, sometimes we need to bring our close friends along with us. Such friends must not be too intrusive and over reaching. Just sitting quietly by our side, feeling with us in our pain and struggles may be all that is needed. At other times, we may need them to give us a listening ear, and offer some wise counsel at the opportune time.
When we withdraw from the world, the Lord will come to meet us. Indeed, we must never think that the Lord is absent when we are down. The Lord was watching Peter without him knowing of His presence, just as He watched Peter when he denied Him three times. So even when it was night, as the gospel mentioned, Jesus was present with Peter. For Peter, it was darkness and shame. He could not see the Lord in his guilt and sorrow, just like Magdalene in her grief. How true that when we are in pain, we often feel that the Lord is far away and that He does not care. But in truth He does. He is waiting for an occasion to reach out to us.
The gospel noted that when it was light, the Lord once again reached out to Peter. “Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.'” By so doing, He reminded Peter of His mercy and love for Him when he was first called. Repeating the same miracle when Peter could not find any catch even though he was an experienced fisherman, Peter’s memories returned. But it was John who was able to recognize the Lord, exclaiming, “‘It is the Lord.’ At these words ‘It is the Lord,’ Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water.” In jumping into the water, a symbol of being cleansed of his guilt and sin, he had the courage to return to Him.
“As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it.” Jesus prepared a meal for the disciples. Jesus then said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Having meals means fellowship. So the act of calling them to have breakfast with Him was a sign of reconciliation and forgiveness. More importantly, it was the beginning of healing for Peter because the fire of betrayal was healed by the fire of mercy. By preparing breakfast over the charcoal fire, Jesus was healing the memory of Peter who denied Him three times at the charcoal fire that night. Indeed, we need to overwrite our bad memories with positive memories. By serving them bread and fish, Jesus was also reminding them of the Eucharist that He celebrated for them at the Last Supper. This Eucharist, we call the “breaking of bread.” The identity of Jesus was confirmed when they saw Him doing what He did when He multiplied bread for the 5000 and at the Last Supper. The evangelist noted that “none of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?; they knew quite well that it was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish.”
Recognizing His Lordship is the key to finding salvation, as what Peter and John said to the Sanhedrin. Recognizing His Lordship of course presupposes that we have faith in His resurrection. The apostles reaffirmed that only because Jesus is alive and risen, that the miracle could have been performed. They said in no uncertain terms, “It was by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the one you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name and by no other that this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy, here in your presence today. This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone. For all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.” To recognize His Lordship means that we will submit to His Word in all things. This was what the disciples did. It is important to take note that Jesus commanded Peter to throw the net out to starboard and then to bring some of the fish they had just caught to Him. They obeyed. Obedience to the Lord is the key to finding salvation. Indeed, the apostles later on would tell the Sanhedrin, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” (Acts 5:29)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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