Paul T. Keil, 1 May 2022
Third Sunday of Easter: Season C
Peace be with you and welcome to our Mass for this amazing celebration for the Third Sunday of Easter, and again, Happy Easter to all. As Father Tim said last week, we can all joyfully keep saying “Happy Easter” until Pentecost, a whole month away. Also, as a reminder, we will be open between Easter and Christmas. Now, I have learned, when talking to complete strangers, a “Happy Easter”, may cause confusion unless you can explain. For example, cutting down the beer isle in Publix at 9 AM caused some confusion for me last week. I think the lady thought I’d already had a couple and started moving away very quickly. So, now I only say “Happy Easter” to strangers when I’m at a place and time where I can explain a little.
And of course, this weekend we also have the first Sunday of May and start Mass with the crowning of Mary. This rich Catholic Tradition for special observances honoring Mary as the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven during the month of May goes as far back as at least to the 13 th Century. When researching, I came upon another interesting note I think is especially important this year. In 1965 Pope Paul VI issued an encyclical that identified the month of May as an opportune time to incorporate special prayers for peace into our traditional Marian devotions. I’m sure in 1965 he was probably focused on Vietnam but now, in 2022, his guidance is especially, just as applicable with what’s happening in Ukraine and the Middle East right now.
So, just like last week, our readings today came from the Acts of the Apostles, The Book of Revelation, and the Gospel of John. Readings from these three books will continue up to Pentecost. Today’s reading from the 21 st Chapter of John’s Gospel is somewhat unique, however. Many scholars call Chapter 21 the second ending to John’s Gospel. Last week the Gospel reading ended with these two closing verses from Chapter 20, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.” Sounds like the end, right? Well, wrong. Today we heard most of Chapter 21, hence, scholars calling it the second ending. And believe me when I say, scholars and theologians alike have written volumes about this so-called second ending of John concerning everything from, who really wrote it, when it was written, and what it all theologically really means. These same types of debates swirl around the three possible endings to Mark’s Gospel and various other apparent academic inconsistencies in the Bible.
Friends, when you find yourself stumbling into this kind of Biblical academic argument take a deep breath, and remember, the Catholic Church teaches the Bible is the inspired Word of God, given to us without error, for our salvation. With an emphasis on “for our salvation!” It is a poor history book and it’s certainly not a science book, even though some Christians today still persist in trying to use it as both. The Bible is a book of faith given to us for our salvation. Amen! And that salvation message is exactly what we’re going to talk about for the next few minutes.
One thing that has always struck me personally as I’ve read the Gospels, today’s reading included is, Peter and the other guys he hung out with, were not very good fishermen, or at least not whenever Jesus showed up. He always seemed to find them with empty nets after hours of fishing, but when they followed his guidance, no matter how ridiculous it may sound, like, “really, the other side of the boat.” Then they always filled their nets. Gosh, do you think there might be an obvious salvation message for us in this little tidbit as simple as faith?
Then there’s another message that seems to be obvious to me about sin and forgiveness during Jesus’ dialogue with Peter. I’ve often asked myself, could Peter’s three vehement yeses to Jesus’ three, “Do you love me” questions, possibly be an example of forgiveness for Peter’s grievous threefold sins of denial? John has given us a strong hint that the two scenes are connected. There are only two episodes in his Gospel where we see a charcoal fire mentioned, in today’s reading and in Chapter 18:18, where Peter sits and literally denies knowing Jesus three times. Whether forgiveness is one of the salvation messages in this specific scene or not, the question that truly matters is the question of love. This is a deeply personal exchange. When I put myself into this scene, I can visualize tears in Peter’s eyes. He certainly seems confused and even frustrated by Jesus asking seemingly the same question three times.
Now, as you pull out those scholarly commentaries about this scene, they’ll often talk about the three or four various ancient Greek words all translated into the single word “love” in English speaking Bibles. The first two times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him, he uses the Greek word “agapao”. The third time Jesus asks the question he uses the word “phileo”. All three times Peter responds to Jesus, he uses the word “phileo”. By strict definition “agapao” is an unconditional loving even of those seemingly unlovable. “Phileo”, on the other hand is, a love often fostered by a strong friendship or family. Now the smart guys, with all the letters behind their names, have tried to spin the distinction between these two words into various theological messages and meanings in various commentaries. And you know what? They often disagree with each other.
My sisters and brothers, no one in the New Testament uses the word love more often than John. All else aside, today’s Gospel is about love. We don’t need to be linguists or philosophers to listen to Scripture. To profess Jesus Christ is to know we are called to love. The question Jesus asks Peter never goes away and we must visualize ourselves sitting by that charcoal fire, looking Jesus in the eye, and answering that same question, “do you love me?” Then with our sincere answer spoken we should always hear Jesus saying to each and every one of us, individually, “feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Follow me.”
