Third Sunday of Easter

Catechism Links [1]
CCC 642-644, 857, 995-996: the Apostles and disciples as witnesses of the Resurrection
CCC 553, 641, 881, 1429: the risen Christ and Peter
CCC 1090, 1137-1139, 1326: the heavenly liturgy

“The Denial of St Peter “
by Gerrit van Honthorst, 1622-24

 
Readings or the Third Sunday of Easter [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
 
When the captain and the court officers had brought the apostles in
and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,
the high priest questioned them,
“We gave you strict orders, did we not,
to stop teaching in that name?
Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
But Peter and the apostles said in reply,
“We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,
though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
 
The Sanhedrin ordered the apostles
to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them.
So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
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Commentary on Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
 
As in the previous case when they had cured the lame beggar, the Apostles (this time all of them, not just Peter and John) are brought before the Sanhedrin. It is interesting to see that the elders and scribes fear to speak the name of Jesus in these proceedings (“stop teaching in that name”).
 
Peter now assumes his role as leader of the Apostles and again boldly professes his faith that Jesus, in whose name they speak and whose name the Sanhedrin fear to speak, is the Son of God (“We must obey God rather than man”).
 
While we do not hear the rationale from Gamaliel (St.Paul’s mentor) that killing the Apostles would serve no useful purpose (Acts 5:34-39), and we do not hear that they are scourged (Acts 5:40a), we pick up the tale of the Apostles after they were beaten.
 
Gamaliel was indeed wise, recognizing that, even before it formally existed, the blood of martyrs is seed for new members of the Church. Indeed, even persecution has a positive effect on the faith and fervor of the Apostles (“So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.”)
 
CCC: Acts 5:28 597; Acts 5:29 450, 2242, 2256; Acts 5:30 597; Acts 5:41 432
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
 
R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
 
This song of thanksgiving highlights the theme that God intervenes for his faithful.  While the psalm remembers the Diaspora and Israel’s deliverance, we see it also refers to Christ’s saving mission.
 
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Reading II: Revelation 5:11-14
 
I, John, looked and heard the voices of many angels
who surrounded the throne
and the living creatures and the elders.
They were countless in number, and they cried out in a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and blessing.”
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth
and under the earth and in the sea,
everything in the universe, cry out:
“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor, glory and might,
forever and ever.”
The four living creatures answered, “Amen, “
and the elders fell down and worshiped.
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Commentary on Rev 5:11-14
 
The profuse adoration and praise for the Lamb is referring to an earlier question. The chapter begins with: "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" (referring to God’s scroll fixed with seven seals). The scroll in this case represents God’s plan for salvation. The angels, who act as an honor guard, reply listing all (seven) of those blessings which apply to God. So the response we hear in our Scripture today answers that question: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing."
 
CCC: Rv 5:9-14 2642; Rv 5:9-10 1546; Rv 5:13 449, 2855
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Gospel:
Longer Form: John 21:1-19
 
At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We also will come with you.”
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him, “No.”
So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something.”
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
Jesus said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
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Commentary on Jn 21:1-19
 
The Gospel from St. John gives us the Lord’s third appearance to the disciples. Again, he is not at first recognized. In typical Johannine fashion, the first to recognize the Lord was the disciple whom Jesus loved, presumed to be St. John himself.
 
Without the Lord being present, they have caught no fish.  Jesus tells them where to cast the net and, indeed, they net a great number of fish (153 probably symbolic of universal mission of the Church - the total species of fish known at the time or the sum of numbers from 1-17). Peter is so excited he jumps in and swims to shore, discovering Jesus with a fish already cooking and bread, a eucharistic reference. When they are joined by the other disciples, they were so overawed that they could not even speak. Then the Lord broke the bread.
 
Following the revelation story above, Jesus focuses on Peter, making sure he understands his role in the foundation of the Church. The triple confession of Peter reverses his earlier denials of the Lord on the night of the passion (John 18: 16, 25, 27). This is also a key passage, identified by the Church as Christ’s post-resurrection assignment of Peter to be the shepherd of the Church, essentially establishing the beginning of apostolic succession.
 
CCC: Jn 21:4 645, 645, 659; Jn 21:7 448, 645; Jn 21:9 645; Jn 21:12 1166; Jn 21:13-15 645; Jn 21:15-17 553, 881, 1429, 1551; Jn 21:18-19 618
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Or
Shorter Form: John 21:1-14
 
At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “ am going fishing.”
They said to him, “e also will come with you.”
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him, “No.”
So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat
 
and you will find something.”
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “(It is the Lord.”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 21:1-14
 
In this shorter form, the focus is on Christ’s third appearance and his revelation as newly resurrected. The reference: “This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead,” may have a deeper meaning in Hebrew as we know that in order to express the most complete form of a word it was repeated three times (i.e. rather than holy, holier, holiest the word was repeated “holy, holy, holy”). With his third appearance in St. John’s Gospel, Christ revealed himself completely to the disciples. This is coupled in the longer form with St. Peter’s three affirmations of love for the Lord, presumably to atone for his three-fold denial in the courtyard. (John 18: 16, 25, 27)
 
CCC: Jn 21:4 645, 645, 659; Jn 21:7 448, 645; Jn 21:9 645; Jn 21:12 1166; Jn 21:13-15 645
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Reflection:
 
As we begin our third week of Easter, we are reminded just how far we have come.  In the Gospel we find Peter, who had just flung himself into the water to get to Jesus quickly, confronted by the Lord: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" 
 
What must Peter have thought?  Scripture gives us a clue.  We recall that the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter was asked three times if he was one of the Lord’s followers.  Three times Peter denied he even knew Jesus.  Now, probably filled with guilt, Peter is asked three times if he loves the Lord.
 
Then comes the mission, the mission that Jesus had for Peter almost from the beginning: "Tend my sheep."  Peter, a fisherman, was to become a shepherd.  And we understand instantly who the sheep are within this metaphor, it is the flock of the Christian faithful, the Church.
 
And what would we say and hear from Jesus under the same circumstances?  We, who by our words and actions have denied the Lord many times, what would we say if Jesus asked: “Do you love me?”  We would say, “Yes Lord, I love you.”  And what would he ask of us? 
 
That is not a question we will answer here, it is the question we ponder.  What does the Lord want from us?  Upon St. Peter the Lord placed a tremendous burden, to shepherd the Church through its infant years, years when first the Sanhedrin and then the Romans would try to destroy it.  But what does the Lord want from us?
 
Pax
 
In other years on May 1^st: Optional Memorial for Saint Joseph the Worker

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “The Denial of St Peter “ by Gerrit van Honthorst, 1622-24.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.