Third Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 48
Reading I
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.
Responsorial Psalm
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.
Reading II
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ is risen, creator of all;
he has shown pity on all people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.”
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Today we are celebrating the Third Sunday in the Easter Season. Our rejoicing continues as we spread the good news of The Resurrection of our Lord Savior Jesus Christ. There is no doubt that we have been affected in a positive way by this season. For forty days we walked with The Crucified Christ. We carried our own crosses upon our backs and bore the pain of the wounds we inflicted upon ourselves through our sins and transgressions. We whipped ourselves and beat ourselves up over our shortcomings. We then arrived at Calvary and were pierced by nails and raised up upon the same crosses which we carried. We suffered crucifixion next to our God. He looked at us with empathy and then took all that we suffered with upon Himself and then died because of the burden that He chose to take. We were relieved when He took away all our sufferings and then He chose to comfort us instead of focusing on His own pain. He took everything from us and relieved us because He loved us so much. Innocent He was, we in turn were condemned by our own guilt. Innocent that He was, we received a punishment that was equal to our crimes. In the words of Saint Dismus,
““Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41. And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42. And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43. And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:39-43
Saint Dismas is speaking to all of us. Regardless of our circumstances, Jesus did not deserve what He suffered. He did not deserve His sentence. He took this upon Himself freely and voluntarily so that we all may receive an opportunity of salvation and the forgiveness of our sins. He is reminding us of what we received freely through the sacrifice made by our God.
Now, as we celebrate The Resurrected Christ, we are given a model which to follow our lives by. Christ has risen. He has truly risen! Now we are commissioned to go out and celebrate this with unending joy and fervent vigor. We cannot let ourselves hold ourselves back. Instead, The Resurrected Christ should be the springboard into a new way of life and a transformative experience. Just as The Apostles emerged from their state of doubt and fear to profess Jesus Christ as God, we too should be doing the same thing. There should be no fear or apprehension regarding what we must do. The path is clear. We are obligated to spread The Good News of The Resurrected Christ to the entire world. Everyone who we interact with should be exposed to the truth and receive what we have received without cost and without earning it. Christ is risen and the world has been saved from itself.
Imagine The Apostles and disciples for a moment. At the crucifixion, they were scattered and in hiding, fearing for their own lives. Yet the Resurrection brought them a new life and hope that to this day has remained unparalleled. They all went out and confronted all that opposed them and the Message of Salvation without any fear of their lives. They faced all sorts of prosecution and threats of death without any fear. We are invited to do the same. Why shouldn’t we do the same? We walked with The Crucified Christ for 40 days and then embraced Him in His Resurrection. We are now partakers in everything that He has offered and given to us. He is our God and we are His children. We are then instructed to act accordingly. There is no reason to be shy and act with some sort of apprehension. Our God walks with us. He is The Resurrected Christ. Let us all acknowledge this and recognize this. As it was testified by The Apostle John, the entire Hosts of Heaven cried out,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing.”
Worthy indeed He was, and we are asked to conduct ourselves accordingly.
In the Gospel Reading today, we are offered further hope and encouragement. The Apostle Peter was mandated by Jesus Christ Himself to be the rock which Christ’s Church was to be founded on. Yet, at a critical point, he denied even knowing Jesus three times. Was this mandate to be withdrawn as a result? Was Peter to be ultimately rejected by Jesus? Absolutely not! Peter was offered a chance of redemption, just as we all are. Jesus never withdraws from those that He loves. He continuously offers an opportunity for forgiveness and healing. No one is beyond redemption. The Apostles and disciples needed interaction with The Resurrected Christ, just as we all need it today if we know it or not. We cannot live our faith if we do not have constant interaction with Jesus Christ. He is always here, offering intimacy and a relationship which He craves for. Our God wants to be our friend and He wants to love us.
Most of the secular world has already looked beyond The Easter Joy. We as Christians are encouraged to continue the celebration. In fact, this celebration should have no end. The Crucifixion is behind us and we are emersed in The Easter Joy. We are sons and daughters of The Resurrection. Let us act accordingly without limiting ourselves.
Deacon Tom
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