The discovery that Jesus rose from the dead unsettled the disciples’ life; it was beyond their understanding. Though Jesus appeared to them multiple times, for a while, they were uncertain about their mission. In today’s gospel Peter and others go fishing; they needed to work to support their families. They worked all night and caught nothing and were disappointed. Jesus appears again and asked them to try casting nets in the place he showed them. They were amazed at the large number of fish they caught [153 fish could be a reference to that many different kinds of fish known to people in the first century Palestine. It means that church’s mission is to all peoples of the world; ‘the net not torn’ is the church which is under God’s protective care]]. The fishing scene was also about the disciples’ original call: Jesus said, ‘follow me, I will make you fishers of men’. The risen Jesus cannot be known, the same way they knew him before the crucifixion. A sense of wonder is the beginning of knowing who Jesus is!
Jesus prepares a meal for them which reminds us the Last Supper and the Eucharist. The community of disciples, the church is a sharing community. The Eucharist is meant to shape and strengthen our fellowship as followers of Christ. Gospel of John begins saying Jesus is God’s love sent to us; the gospel ends with Jesus asking Peter, ‘do you love me’, indicating that the church’s mission in the world is love! Jesus says to Peter, ‘feed my sheep’. Love is about feeding, or caring; it is the wellbeing of the person you love and your own sound body and mind. Book of Revelation says, the universe is crying out, ‘glory, honor to the Lamb slain’ because Jesus the Lamb of God became our food; he redeems and transforms by his love.
Jesus says to Peter, loving me means that people will take you to where you don’t want to go and feeding is offering your life for others. Jesus put love at the center of everything, as cure for the ills of the world. Love urges to say no to wars, violence and hatred; love desires freedom and rejects narrow-minded systems of the world; love safeguards human rights and the dignity of all. Unfortunately, many listen to voices that divide and destroy! Wars and all malice are a failure to love thy neighbor. Peter as chief shepherd of the church is asked to teach the world, how to love! Peter denied Jesus three times and three times Jesus asked him, do you love me? Peter was called not because he was worthy but because Jesus loved him and his love and mercy healed Peter’s guilt. Failures, disappointments, shame are all lessons or tests to advance with courage and faith, to have the courage to love.
Today Jesus asks us the same question he asked Peter, ‘do you love me’? Is your love for me strong enough that you risk your life for me? If you love me, you learn to live with your fears and you wouldn’t despair. If you love me, you are ready to mend a broken relationship. If you love me, you risk to be generous to do good for others and you let go all that does not help you find peace. This kind of love means to be like the earth; the earth accepts changing seasons, rain, snow, drought, heat, cold and it keeps giving or feeding life on earth. Teresa of Avila: ‘Christ has no hands, no feet on earth but yours, yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world; yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world’. Resurrection of Christ was the remaking of human history; like Peter, we all partake in this mission of remaking or blessing the world by loving it and feeding it with gifts of the Spirit in us!