John 21:1-19
Begin Again
by Rev. James C. Hudgins
Reprinted with permission of "The Arlington Catholic
Herald"
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John wrote to show that Christ was
the Messiah, the Divine Son of God.
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
the 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 our 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."
In
all the history of the church, there has never been a day of scandal worse than
Good Friday. Eleven out of 12 apostles, the first bishops of the church,
betrayed Jesus in his hour of greatest need. Peter, the first vicar of Christ,
emphatically and unambiguously denied that he had ever known him — and not once,
but three times. Since that day, there’s no record of any conversation between
Peter and Jesus — until now.
Peter
stands by the shore of the Sea of Galilee and announces, “I'm going fishing.”
Peter hadn’t been fishing for three years. Jesus had called him to something
higher. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19). Jesus had
called him to be head of the church: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church” (Mt 16:18). But after his triple betrayal, who knows what Peter
was thinking? Perhaps Peter imagined all that was over. After how badly he had
fallen, certainly Jesus would look for someone else. That’s how most of us
think, isn’t it? Ever since the Garden of Eden, ever since Adam and Eve ran and
hid from God after their sin, we’ve imagined that when we give up on God, God
gives up on us. But God is full of surprises. Look what happens.
The
Gospel of John is dense with symbolism and layers of meaning. Certain things are
always meaningful in John: numbers, especially things that happen in threes and
sevens; light and darkness, times of day and night, sunrises and sunsets; and
deliberate repetition — seemingly insignificant details that are in fact quite
deliberate because they link events together. John notes in the Gospel that
while the apostles were fishing, Jesus builds a fire. But not just any fire, a
“charcoal” fire. The last time John mentions a charcoal fire in his Gospel? The
night before Good Friday. That night, when Jesus is on trial before the
Sanhedrin, John notes that Peter stood beside a “charcoal” fire. There, he
denies Jesus three times.
Now,
once again beside a charcoal fire, in the first recorded conversation between
Jesus and Peter since his passion and death, Jesus asks Peter a question.
“Peter, do you love me more than these?” Imagine what Peter was thinking at that
moment. “Here we go,” Peter may have thought to himself. “If I say ‘yes,’ then
the Lord will ask me, ‘Well, if you love me, then why did you betray me?’” What
astonishment Peter must have felt when Jesus instead says, “Feed my lambs.”
Three times Peter betrayed Jesus. Three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love
me?” Jesus, of course, does this on purpose to show Peter the power of
forgiveness. Not only has Jesus never revoked his love, but Jesus wishes Peter
to know that, because of his triple failure and manifest human weakness, Peter
has become the perfect spokesman for God's grace. He is more qualified than ever
to lead souls to the mercy of God.
What
happens to Peter by the fire is precisely what Jesus wants to happen to each of
us. He wants us to know that we are forgiven for precisely that sin that has
caused us the deepest remorse of our lives. There's a story I love from the life
of St. Teresa of Avila. After St. Teresa would go to confession, she would stand
outside the confessional and wait for all the sisters of her convent to also
finish their confessions. As each sister came out, St. Teresa would greet each
one, put her hands on her shoulders, look her in the eye and say, “Begin again.
Begin again.”
In
the Gospel this week, through the person of Peter, Jesus says the same words to
you and me. Begin again.
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