This day was made by the Lord:
we rejoice and are glad. PS 117:24
ACTS 4:1-12 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Nothing seemingly changes, Lord, one group or another will always be annoyed at the Truth because it disturbs their peace, threatens the status quo, they prefer to be comfortable rather than to be shaken out of their lethargy. So it is with the Sadducees, who take offense because Peter and John were preaching the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and proclaiming Your resurrection. They arrested them but Truth by its very nature cannot be constrained no matter how hard the powers of evil may try as the rulers, elders and scribes, Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, Jonathan, Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly families would soon find out. The message was preached, it was heard and many believed and the number of believers swelled to around five thousand.
When Peter and John were questioned, ‘By what power, and by whose name have you men done this?’ Peter, the one who denied You in fear and hid in shame, now filled with the Holy Spirit boldly and loudly proclaims, ‘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.’
This is indeed the Good News of our salvation. We are saved by Your passion, death, and glorious resurrection. We live because You live. Dying You destroyed our death, rising You restored our love, Lord Jesus, come in glory - Maranatha!
JOHN 21:1-14 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
The disciples believe without a shadow of a doubt that it is truly You risen from the dead who shows Yourself to them over and over again. They know You yet You are not quite sure it is You because of Your resurrected Body.
The Apostles have time on their hands and Peter is restless so he announces that he is going fishing. It is familiar work that he hopes will quiet his teeming thoughts and emotions. No sooner does he voice his intentions than some of the others too decide to accompany him. They are Thomas, Nathanael, James, and John. The results of spending the whole night out at sea are disappointing - they catch nothing.
The light of dawn is slowly paling the horizon they watch in silence as the soft glow of day spreads across the sky suddenly they see a figure on the shore calling out to them, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answer, ‘No’, the Man on the shore then says, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’ There is that familiar deja vu again - they do as asked and the net was so full of fish that even though there were seven of them they found it difficult to haul it in. It is the disciple whom You loved who is the first to recognize it is You and says to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’ Peter does not need a second prompting as soon as he hears these words. ‘It is the Lord’, Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak around him, jumped into the water, and swam to You. While the rest brought the boat to shore. Peter had been musing on You through the long hours of the night, his heart longed for You then suddenly You were there and his heart pounded with joy.
The first thing they noticed as they came ashore was that meal was already prepared for them on a charcoal fire. There was bread and fish. When You come to us my Lord, You always come to satisfy every need and longing of our hearts but You also desire that we give You something as well. You ask the disciples to get some of the fish they had caught and Peter went to haul the now full net to shore it was full of big fish, the evangelist tells us that there were 153 fish in all but the net had not broken. It is a foretaste of the mission that You will entrust to Peter, the Twelve, and to the Church as well as the successors of Peter and the Apostles. The net represents the Church - she has room for all and she will hold steady and safe all who are in it until You return in glory.
You invite them to eat. The Apostles know it is You but not quite as they remember You and are too timid to ask if it was really You. It really wasn't necessary because You then reveal without a shadow of a doubt who You are at the breaking of bread. At every celebration of the Holy Mass and in the breaking of the bread in the Holy Eucharist we see You, we eat You, we taste You, we are filled with You, and we are nourished by You. Thank You, Lord.
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