04/22/2007

FR. OLMAN’S HOMILY

04/22/07

We have heard in today’s Gospel the account of the appearance of Jesus to his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. This was according to an appointment which Jesus himself made before his passion and death. It was never heard that one made an appointment like this. He had told his Apostles “you will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up u will go ahead of you to Galilee. The Lord kept his appointment after his resurrection.

Here we have a turning point in the life of St Peter. It was shortly after the death of Jesus. Peter and his other disciples were still stunned by the experience of the Cross. How aware they were of their own shortcomings! In the hour of their Master’s passion when he needed them most, Judas betrayed him, Peter denied him, the rest of them fled in fear. Confused and saddened the disciples seem to think that the future was hopeless. They were uncertain what to do. So they returned to what was familiar to them.

At this point of discouragement and failure, Jesus draws near to them. Peter’s plan even that night seems to end in failure. “That night they caught nothing”. Jesus tells Peter and his companions “cast the net to the right side of the boat, they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because there were so many fish”. The nets are filled with fish when Peter and his companions worked at the command of Jesus. The same thing happens in the life of each one of us. While it is true that we ourselves decide what paths we will take, our decisions will lead us to true joy and fulfillment only I they are in accordance with God’s will. The secret of the successful catch of fish is the obedience of Peter and his companions.

The Lord himself prepared a breakfast for his disciples. When they had finished it, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon do you love me more than these. The Master asks his disciple, Peter, if the loves him, not in order to know if Peter loved him but in order to teach us how close to his heart is the care of the flock. His intention, then, was to show how Jesus loved the Church. Jesus wants to tell us that those who care for the flock of Christ must do so for love of Christ.

Obviously Jesus could have said to Peter “If you love me, give yourself to fasting, spend sleepless nights, give alms to the poor” but Jesus did not say anything of the kind. Peter is asked to put his love into proactive by serving the need s of his brothers and sisters, by exercising his pastoral ministry in the Church. We show our love of God by serving our brothers and sisters. Peter is given the care of the whole Church, the whole flock of Christ. He has to feed the whole Church by word and the sacraments. This is done not only in and extraordinary way by the infallible teaching of Peter and his successors, by solemn definitions but also, we should say, especially in the day to day normal teaching of the Pope, the successor of Peter.

Peter and the other apostles accomplished the mission Jesus had given them toward the lambs and sheep of the Church. They filled Jerusalem with his teaching despite opposition as they chose to obey God rather than men. From Jerusalem the faith spread throughout the world and has come down to us today.

We are witnesses of Jesus. Today’s we’ll not die in martyrdom. We are called to loved Jesus as Peter and the disciples did. Love Jesus is practical, not romantic. For us, the more effective witness is patience, forgiveness, nonviolent resistance and a willingness to recognize the humanity of the other. Jesus insists that love means a willingness to lay down one’s life for others. Jesus’ final words to Peter were “Follow me!” love will take peter to Rome where he will lose his life for the sake of his fidelity to the Gospel. Most of us will not be called to such an extreme form of martyrdom. But everyone is called to the martyrdom –that is, the witness- of love. That is living and acting as if the will being and happiness of other is at least as important as our own. There is not greater witness than this.

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Last modified:04/22/07