Friday in the Octave of Easter

“Appearance on Lake Tiberias”
by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-11

Readings for Friday in the Octave of Easter [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary:[3]
 
Reading 1: Acts 4:1-12
 
After the crippled man had been cured,
while Peter and John were still speaking to the people,
the priests, the captain of the temple guard,
and the Sadducees confronted them,
disturbed that they were teaching the people
and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
They laid hands on Peter and John
and put them in custody until the next day,
since it was already evening.
But many of those who heard the word came to believe
and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
 
On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes
were assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest,
Caiaphas, John, Alexander,
and all who were of the high-priestly class.
They brought them into their presence and questioned them,
"By what power or by what name have you done this?"
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them,
"Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved."
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Commentary on Acts 4:1-12
 
This selection follows Peter and John as they proclaim Christ crucified and risen. In these verses, their effective apologia has now gained them an audience with Caiaphas and the rest of the Sanhedrin, the very same people who handed Jesus over to be crucified. Peter, having just performed a saving act in Jesus’ name, reminds them of this fact with the famous cornerstone (in other versions the word used is “keystone” or “head of the corner”) speech using imagery from their own hymnal Psalm 118:22.
 
CCC: Acts 4:10 597; Acts 4:11 756; Acts 4:12 432, 452, 1507
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2 and 4, 22-24, 25-27a
 
R. (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
O LORD, grant salvation!
O LORD, grant prosperity!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, and he has given us light.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 118:1-2 and 4, 22-24, 25-27a
 
This litany of thanksgiving features the cornerstone image that, in addition to Acts 4:1-12, was also used in the Gospel of St. Mark (Mark 12:10), the first epistle of St. Peter (1 Peter 2:7), and the following Old Testament references: Job 38:6; Isaiah 28:16; Jeremiah 51:26.
 
CCC: Ps 118:22 587, 756; Ps 118:26 559
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Gospel: John 21:1-14
 
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.
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Commentary on Jn 21:1-14
 
This passage relates 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.  It is significant that they are found at Lake Tiberias.  They have done what the Lord asked and returned to Galilee (Matthew 28:10).
 
Jesus tells them where to cast the net and indeed, they net a great number of fish (153 was probably symbolic of the 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 into the water 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.
 
“The Fathers and Doctors of the Church have often dwelt on the mystical meaning of this episode: the boat is the Church, whose unity is symbolized by the net which is not torn; the sea is the world, Peter in the boat stands for supreme authority of the Church, and the number of fish signifies the number of the elect (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, 'Commentary on St. John, in loc.').” [4]
 
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:
 
One week ago today we recalled the Passion of our Lord and felt the tragic pang of sorrow as he was laid in the tomb.  It always seems odd to see the tabernacle bare and empty, the vigil light extinguished.  Lots of folks can’t seem to understand or perhaps they are just so accustomed to reverencing the Eucharist they don’t think about what it is that‘s missing.
 
Today, that missing component is back, back in the tabernacle.  The Lord too is back with the disciples who themselves are back fishing, where many of them started.  Now the Lord lets them (and us) know that, while he has fulfilled the Father’s plan, the mission is not completed.  The Lord has made them “fishers of men” as he promised.  Now as then, he directs us, and we are to cast his net. The net we cast is made up of each of us.
 
Knowing we need strength for such a difficult task, he feeds us with his own body in the Eucharist. He says: “Come, have breakfast.”  The scripture story has one additional piece of symbolism for us after that invitation. The disciples, the ones he called and who had been walking with him for three long years, were there and they too were afraid of the task that he laid before them.
 
Today we again pray in thanksgiving: “He is Risen!” We also ask God for the strength to carry on the work to which, like the disciples on the shore of Galilee, we are called.  May his Holy Spirit guide us and his body, the Eucharist, strengthen us.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture used is “Appearance on Lake Tiberias” by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-11.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] 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.
[4] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p.705.