Friday Fevorino

Readings:

Acts 4:1-12; Ps. 118; Jn. 21:1-14

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” These words taken from today’s Psalm remind us of the great and wonderful day of the Lord’s Resurrection and its enduring effect on the human race. Today’s Gospel shows us the importance of allowing Jesus to direct our life. Peter and the other disciples decide to go fishing, but this is no ordinary fishing trip. What might John be trying to tell us in this passage? Well, the scene is an allegory for the early Christian Church, which is often represented by a boat, and the disciples are carrying out the mission of the church, namely, to make disciples of all nations, to be fishers of men. But, there is a problem in the story, they haven’t caught anything. Perhaps they were going about it all wrong? Notice, it is not until Jesus commands them to cast their nets over the right side of the boat that they land a massive catch. So, the moral of this story is that by themselves the disciples were unable to catch anything, but their failure turns into success when directed by Jesus. This is further elaborated for us in the Acts of the Apostles. Despite Peter’s having been arrested, Luke tells us about 5,000 men came to believe because of the word he spoke. When Peter is asked by the high priests, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” Peter responds by saying it is in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean. Indeed, “there is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven…by which we are to be saved.” The goal for the Christian, then, is to never be discouraged, to look failure in the face, to follow the words of Jesus, and to give God the glory. So, on this Friday of the Octave of Easter, the Octave of the Day the Lord has made, we may ask ourselves: Have we been snagged by the fisherman’s net? Have we been transformed by the Word of God? Have we been caught by Jesus?

Given during the COVID-19 pandemic.