Third Sunday Easter Cycle C
April 2007
This has been a difficult week. With the Nor’easter many homes and businesses were flooded out. I work in Northern NJ and several of my coworkers suffered significant damage to their homes from basements that filled with water. Most of them did not have flood insurance and now have to figure out how to pay for it. This problem pales in comparison to what the families of those students and teachers in Virginia Tech are going through. Here we are today celbrating the Third Sunday of Easter yet this senseless act of violence and tragedy fills our newspapers and our airwaves. At first I could not appreciate the immensity of the tragedy. My attention is centered on my family and my work and often I turn the news off because it is so negative. However, the evening of the tragedy, I heard on the radio that many students gathered for a service at Catholic Church. One student said that while she only attended Church on Christmas and Easter, “She had to be there” she said tearfully. Suddenly I was very affected when the news showed pictures of the students that were murdered. The pictures showed young men and women with everything to live for; full of hope and life but now they are gone. I wonder how this could happen, they were so innocent and young. Their families suffer and the rest of us try to make sense of it all.
I am totally convinced that when confronting indescribable grief and suffering, the only answer is Jesus Christ. Ultimately our faith in him allows us to hope for a brighter day. Our world is like the water that we read about in the Gospel today. We are all like the Apostles tossed about in a boat. We plan for the future, for our families for our selves but sometimes it doesn’t work out like we planned. The Disciples set out to find food but they were unable to catch anything. Their Savior appears to be gone, they do not know what to do so they go back to want they know. Failure, fear and frustration are all around them. On their own they are unable do what they are always did. As fishermen, they suddenly are unable to catch any fish.
Suddenly Jesus is there in their midst. He is waiting for them by the shore, calling to them, reaching out to them. In a world of uncertainty he is there to help them and guide them.
Our world is not very steady. Like the sea there are times it pulls us up and times it drags us down. It seems that our world is trying to right itself. It is rocked with wars, subject to natural calamities and the ravages of weather. It is faced with diseases, starvation and nuclear threats. The world needs a Savior to make everything right. Jesus died and rose for us yet many do not recognize him. Like the disciples the world is trying to do it on its own and it is often misguided and drifting.
Even within our own homes and families there are struggles and daily challenges. I come from a big family and I understand it when one of my sisters tell me that she gets nervous when everything seems to be going right, She knows sometimes seems to be lurking out there right around the corner. Sometimes within us there is a lot of frustration and despair. We didn’t get that job or that grade. Having a tough time with our spouse our children or maybe our health is not good. These are the times to look to our faith in our risen Savior Jesus Christ. He is our hope and our ultimate goal.
At first the disciples did not recognize Jesus but they listened to him when he told them to try again. Perhaps at first we cannot recognize Jesus. He may seem so far away or our fear and frustration may blind us to the fact that he is calling us from the shore to try again. When they finally recognized him, the disciples would not dare to ask him even though Jesus invites them to share in the meal. Maybe it is our sin and being unable to forgive ourselves that prevent us from really joining in the Eucharist with our whole heart and soul.
There is a lot of meaning in the exchange between the Risen Lord and Peter. Jesus offers Peter a public opportunity to profess his repentance through love. It is the antidote to Peter’s denial of Jesus during our Lord’s passion. Is it wonderful how God can make good come out of tragedy. It may not immediately help families or people or are grieving the loss of a loved one but if we see the face of Christ in suffering, we can offer it to God. This takes faith but I have seem personally seen how tragedy has helped me be more understanding when it come to the suffering of others.. Believe me I would have done anything to avoid it like I am sure many of you would also but I know that I can use suffering to help others when they are going through it.
Another point in the meeting between Jesus and Peter is the call to,” Feed my sheep.” Peter is to go out and evangelize to catch men and women and bring them to our Lord. We are called each of us in our own way to bring hope and comfort to others. When tragedy strikes a family, they huddle together and get through it. If in any small way we can bring hope to someone else through a kind word or through sharing our gifts that is what Jesus calls us to do.
Finally Jesus is telling Peter that he himself will undergo martyrdom and persecution. It is a reminder to all of us that we all will face our own mortality someday. We can feel sweep away like many without faith feel when confronted with a sudden tragedy or we can turn in faith to the risen Lord who constantly calls us from the shore back home with him.
"Hope looks for the good in people
instead of harping on the worst…
Opens doors where despair closes them…
Discovers what can be done
instead of grumbling about what cannot…
‘Lights a candle’ instead of ‘cursing the darkness’…
Regards problems, small or large, as opportunities…
Cherishes no illusions, nor does it yield to cynicism…
Sets big goals and is not frustrated
by repeated difficulties or setbacks…
Puts up with modest gains, realizing
that
‘the longest journey starts with one step’…
Accepts misunderstanding as the
price
for serving the greater good of others…
Is a good loser because
it has the divine assurance of final victory."
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since 4/25/2007