"Simon Son of John, Do You Love Me?" John 21

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter
Mark Payne, OSB

It was business as usual today for the apostles. They all decided to go fishing. They knew how to do this and they were good at it. They were not necessarily running from the wonderful experience of being with Jesus for three years or from the terrible experience of his death. But they still did not understand that what happened in Jerusalem was not the end of their relationship with Jesus but rather the beginning of a new life for them.

The apostles were certainly surprised to have caught not a single fish all night long (even though such things must have happened to them from time to time) but it was a sign that this part of their lives had come to an end. They probably wondered if everything had now gone wrong for them; Jesus had been taken from them and they were no longer any good at fishing. Immediately afterwards, however, the miraculous catch of fish opened their eyes to the fact that, yes, their fishing days were over but their relationship with Jesus was really just beginning.

Of course, human life is very much like this. As we pass from infancy to childhood and into young adulthood, our world and our capabilities grow larger. We are more and more able to take care of ourselves, to make and keep friends, to choose different tasks and to successfully complete them. The world is filled with wonderful people and wonderful opportunities. In today's Gospel, however, the apostles find themselves experiencing something of the other side of life. They were not able to cope with events in Jerusalem when their leader was taken from them; when they were scattered; and when their dreams were shattered. Oddly enough, we might say that they had finally started to grow up.

The peak of life, when we are at the height of our capability and responsibility is still only a part of life. As our capacities diminish we find ourselves more trying to just hang on to the boat rather than to enter white-water races and win trophies with it. The end-time of life, which can be very long, is still a valuable and important time. We move from running on ahead on our own, to holding hands to pull people along and then finally to holding hands to keep ourselves from falling back alone.

It's no accident that Jesus talks to Peter about love today - the kind of love that connects us as much to the future as to the present. Jesus insists with Peter today that love, especially the love of God, connects us also to other people and to their needs and hopes - feed my sheep, Jesus told Peter and Jesus tells us the very same today.

The first reading gives us a glimpse of the apostles very much loving Jesus by testifying to the resurrection (at peril of their lives). We see them testifying in the midst of those who had killed their Lord. Since the apostles had discovered the end and the fulfillment of their lives already in Jesus, they were no longer terrified by the prospect of passing over from this earthly life into the heavenly world Jesus had already entered. If there is one good thing about our diminishment in later life, it does turn our attention to our possible futures. It also reminds us that if we are headed into anything really good, it is going to have to be just given to us. Later in life, Jesus and the promise of resurrection into his kingdom becomes for us more than just a nice idea.

St. John sees pretty clearly into the future today with his visions of angelic choirs, living creatures, and the throng of the saved. Is this wishful thinking for us or are things already happening in our minds and hearts to help us believe that the future has already begun for us in Christ? We heard in Psalm 30 today, first sung many centuries before Jesus, that God will not let death be the last word about us. The psalm declares that the hard times do not last forever but the happiness of God does last forever. The psalmist closes by saying that the voice of God's people will praise God forever. This may be both a promise and a dare to God. We can only fulfill our promise to praise God forever, if we live forever.

It's no accident that Jesus talks to Peter about love today - the kind of love that connects us even more to the future than to the present. Jesus insists today that love, especially the love of God in Jesus Christ, has to last forever. Otherwise, Jesus friendship is an illusion and God is an imposter. In the meantime, let go of everything else and feed my sheep, Jesus told Peter. Jesus tells us the very same today.