By Fr Antony Christy, SDB –
Third Sunday of Easter – May 5, 2019
Acts 5: 27-32,40-41; Revelations 5: 11-14; John 21:1-19
The image that stays in our eyes after having read the Gospel is that of a net filled with fishes, a hundred and fifty three of them! The Gospel is sprinkled all over with a discussion on fish, fishing and fishermen!
JESUS, THE MASTER-FISHER, sets an unbeatable record, with the apostles opening their eyes wide…a man standing on the shore and directing them where to fish, after their toiling whole night. But when they saw the catch, they knew it was the Lord…because they had been in a similar instance before! Remember Luke 5… they witnessed a similar incident!
Jesus was just calling his fishermen disciples… it was then that he promised to make them ‘Fishers of People’ (Mt 4:19; Lk 5:10; Mk 1:17), and that is what they were gradually becoming. Today we have the last lesson of the course; from here they would graduate to be what Jesus promised them to be: Fishers of People! But the making of this, was not an easy task… they had to go through varied phases and at times it was tough and troublesome, including seeing their Master-fisher being killed!
APOSTLES, THE DISCOURAGED FISHERS, at times even thought of giving it all up. For an instance, have a look at what situation we find them in the Gospel today: Peter said, ‘I am going fishing’…that is he thought the course was over and he had reached the end of it. Thomas, Nathanael, John, James and two others were ready to go with Peter too…and in fact they were on their fishing trip after a long time – probably they had lost touch?
In that state when they were down and out, Jesus meets them! The Master is back, the coach is around, the trainer hadn’t given up on them yet! One of the fundamental lessons they were taught while their Master was around with them was, to Obey! They learnt that lesson so well. ‘I do nothing on my own’, their Master had told them, ‘but whatever my Father in heaven tells me.’ That was the cue… and when that voice from the shore told them to cast the net to the right, they do it instantly, in spite of the fatigue they were in. Bingo!
They rediscovered their Master! Peter could not wait… he could never! He was out even before the boat could turn towards the shore, swimming his way to his Master! They were all, rejuvenated. That is what the Risen Lord wanted: to give them that new life, the new birth from mere fishers to fishers of people! That is what they became, the first reading affirms!
FISHING, FEEDING, AND THE FAITHFUL COMMUNITIES… this is what we have left to reflect on. The Apostles became fishers, they learnt what it meant to feed the communities with faith and the communities grew well nourished with the faith of the fishermen. ‘Feeding’ is another imagery that we have very strong today: Jesus wanted to feed his beloved friends and he kept the bread and the fish ready; he directed Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep!
It meant, strengthening people in faith: fishing alone was enough, feeding, that is nurturing was needed! Today, this is what is told to us too. It is not enough that you find your first love with the Lord, feed yourself strong with faith, feed each other with your experiences, become and strong and grow with mutual edification… so that your are prepared when you have to exercise that strength. The Apostles manifest that strength when they so categorically declare: We must rather obey God than any human authority! They had grown, from what they were (weak frightened lot) to what their Master wanted them to be (strong fishers of people). Nothing could stop them; nothing would; nothing has!
The message to us: Look out for the Lord, who is inviting you to be fishers of people; strengthen yourself in faith that you may be able to strengthen many more in faith and feed them towards growing in the Lord!
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him.