Third Easter Sunday [4 May 2025]

God bless us and may the Virgin protect us! In these days, as the prayer of the Church is intense in anticipation of the choice of Peter's successor, the proclamation of the Gospel (Jn 21:1-19) concerning Peter himself takes on great value.

*First Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles (5, 27b-32. 40b-41)

 After the apostles had been scourged for their preaching, St Luke writes that when they came out of the Sanhedrin they went away rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer outrages for the name of Jesus. After all, the Lord had foretold to them that they would be hated, banished, insulted, and reviled because of the Son of Man, and that precisely that would be the time to rejoice and even exult because great is the reward in heaven, since this was also the case with the prophets (cf. Lk 6:22-23). Besides, if they persecuted the Master, they will do the same to you (cf. Jn 15:20). Peter and John, after the healing of the cripple at the Porta Bella, a miracle that made much noise in the city, had been tried before the Sanhedrin, the Jerusalem tribunal, the same one that had condemned Jesus a few weeks earlier. As soon as they were released, they had resumed preaching and performing miracles. Arrested again and put in prison, during the night they were released by an angel and it is understood that this miraculous intervention made them even stronger; they resumed preaching. Today's passage situates us precisely at this moment: arrested once again and brought to court, Peter replies to the high priest who questions them that "one must obey God rather than men". He then speaks of the difference between the logic of God and the logic of men: that of men, that is, that of the Jewish court, considers that a wrongdoer who has been killed should certainly not be given publicity. And he argues thus: Jesus, in the eyes of the religious authorities, is an impostor crucified because he had to be prevented from deceiving the populace prone to give credence to any supposed messiah. A condemned man hung on the cross, according to the Torah, becomes cursed even by God. However, there is also God's logic: you crucified Jesus and yet, against all odds, he is not only not cursed by God but raised to the right hand of God who made him Prince and Saviour to grant Israel conversion and forgiveness of sins. Words that sound scandalous to the judges exasperated by the apostles' confidence, so many decide to eliminate them as they did Jesus. Gamaliel intervenes, however, who invites the Sanhedrin to prudence because if this work is of human origin it will destroy itself, but if it comes from God this will never happen; indeed he warns them so that "it will not happen to you to fight against God" (Acts 5:34-39). Today's liturgical reading skips the Gamaliel episode and directly narrates Peter's response to the tribunal determined to scourge the apostles and then free them. History shows that there have always been persecutions, scandals, and attacks of all kinds in the Church, and yet it continues to go on through the centuries. St Augustine writes: "The city of God advances through time, pilgrimaging between the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God." (De Civitate Dei, XIX, 26).

*Responsorial Psalm 29 (30), 3-4, 5-6ab, 6cd.12, 13

Psalm 29 (30) is very short, only thirteen verses (of which only eight are proposed in today's liturgy). Reading through the entire psalm one perceives the situation of a desperate person who has done everything to be saved, crying out, begging, asking for help. There are people who even enjoy seeing him suffer and mock him, but he continues to cry out for help until someone finally listens and frees him. It is God himself who intervenes and, freed from oppression, the desperate man explodes with joy. The opening of the psalm sets the tone for everything else: 'I exalt you, O Lord, for you have raised me up and not allowed my enemies to rejoice over me'. In every psalm there are two levels of reading: here too, the adventure of one who, despite having suffered an unexpected collapse in his life, continues to be certain that in the end he will be delivered, is an image of Israel exploding with joy after the Babylonian exile, just as it had exulted after the crossing of the Red Sea. In tragic moments, Israel trusts in God: "In my confidence I said: never shall I waver"; he cries out to the Lord: "Hear, Lord, have mercy on me, Lord come to my aid!" and uses every argument possible, going so far as to provoke God: "what good would it do you if I died, what good would my blood do you if I went down to the grave?"  And when the psalmist says: "Can the dust praise thee, proclaim thy faithfulness?" he makes us realise that in those days it was believed that after death there was nothingness, so useless before death were prayers, sacrifices, songs. God, however, listens and performs the miracle: "I cried out to you, my God, and you healed me; Lord you brought me up from the abyss and revived me when I was about to die". This psalm finds its fulfilment in the Easter cry of Alleluia because the Lord has delivered us from the bondage of evil. Among rabbinic commentaries I found this: "God has led us from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to the feast day, from darkness to shining light, from slavery to redemption. Therefore we sing Alleluia before him!"

* Second Reading: From the Book of Revelation of Saint John the Apostle (5, 11-14)

The book of Revelation is a hymn to victory narrated with many visions. In today's text, millions and millions of angels shout at the top of their voices in heaven: "long live the King!" while on land, sea, and under the earth, every breathing creature praises the new King, Jesus Christ: the immolated Lamb, acclaimed as he receives "power and riches, wisdom and strength, honour, glory, and blessing". To describe the kingship of Christ, the vision uses a language of images and numbers; a rich text, therefore, because only symbolic language can introduce us into the ineffable and lindicable world of God. It is, at the same time, a difficult text because it uses recurring images, colours and numbers that are not easy to interpret. It is difficult to grasp the hidden meaning of a passage such as the expression "the four living creatures", which in the previous chapter are four winged beings: the first with the face of a man, the other three of animals - a lion, an eagle, a bull - and we are used to seeing them in many paintings, sculptures and mosaics, believing we know without hesitation to whom they refer. St Irenaeus, in the 2nd century, proposed a symbolic reading: for him, the four living ones are the four evangelists; St Augustine took up the same idea, modifying it slightly, and his interpretation has remained in the tradition: according to him, Matthew is the living one with the face of a man, Mark the lion, Luke the bull and John the eagle. Modern biblical scholars do not seem to agree because for them the author of Revelation has taken an image from Ezekiel, where the four beings support the throne of God and simply represent the created world. The numbers are also difficult to interpret. According to many, the number 3 symbolises God; 4 the world the created world by reason of the four cardinal points; 7 (3+4) evokes both God and the created world in its fullness and perfection, while 6 (7-1) stands for incompleteness, imperfection. Of singular interest is this acclamation: 'The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honour, glory and praise': power and riches, wisdom and strength refer to earthly success, honour, glory and praise are reserved for God. It is a total of seven words: this is to say that the immolated Lamb, that is, Jesus is fully God and fully man, all expressed with the suggestive power of symbolic language. All creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth and on the sea thus proclaim their submission to God who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb: "To him who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb, praise, honour, glory and power for ever and ever". John's insistence aims to exalt the victory of the immolated Lamb: defeated in the eyes of men, he is the great victor. Let us contemplate here the mystery that lies at the heart of the New Testament, which is at the same time its paradox: the Lord of the world is made the least, the Judge of the living and the dead is judged as an evildoer; he who is God is accused of blasphemy and rejected precisely in the name of God. All this happens because God has allowed it. By using this language, St John has a twofold objective: on the one hand, he offers the community a response to the scandal of the cross by providing arguments to Christians who were arguing bitterly with the Jews about the death of Christ. For the Jews it was clear that he was not the Messiah because it is written in Deuteronomy that "anyone condemned to death under the law, executed and hung on a tree, is a curse of God" (Deut 21:22). For Christians, on the other hand, in the light of the resurrection, his death is the work of God and the cross constitutes the place of the exaltation of the Son, as Jesus himself had announced: "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, you will know that 'I am'" (Jn 8:28). That is, you will recognise my divinity: "I Am" is exactly the name of God (Ex 3:14). In a condemned wretch the glory of God shines forth, and in John's vision the Lamb receives the same honours and acclamations as he who sits on the Throne. Secondly, with Revelation John wanted to support Christians in the hour of trial because on the cross Love conquered hatred and, after all, this is precisely the message of Revelation in support of persecuted Christians

*From the Gospel according to John (21, 1-19)

John specifies in this text the presence of seven apostles (21,2). Since the seven Churches of Revelation represent the whole Church, it can be assumed that the seven apostles indicate the disciples of all times, i.e. the whole Christian world. This chapter, as is often the case in the Fourth Gospel, is all symbolic. Let us look at just a few examples. 

1. When the boat touches the shore, despite the fact that the disciples find an embers fire with some fish and bread, Jesus asks them to bring the fish caught by them. Probably this is the message: in the work of evangelisation, since he called Peter "fisher of men", Jesus goes ahead of us (here is the fish already placed on the fire before the disciples arrive), but he always asks for our collaboration.

2. Another point is the dialogue between Jesus and Peter of which the Italian translation has tried to render in some way the subtlety of the Greek verb used for love. Commenting on verses 15-17 in the catechesis of 24 May 2006, Benedict XVI notes the use of the two verbs agapaō and phileō.  In Greek, phileō expresses the love of friendship, affectionate but not all-encompassing; agapaō, love without reserve. The first time Jesus asks Peter: "Simon... do you 'agapā̄s me'?" (21:15), i.e. "Do you love me with that total and unconditional love?", Peter however does not answer with agapaō but with phileō, saying: "Lord, I love you (phileō) as I know how to love". Jesus repeats the verb agapaō in the second question, but Peter insists with phileō. Finally, the third time, Jesus only asks "phileîs me?" and Simon understands that his poor love is enough for Jesus. One can say that Jesus adapted himself to Peter, rather than Peter to Jesus, and it is this adaptation of God that gives hope to the disciple, who has experienced the suffering of infidelity. As in the night between Thursday and Friday, Peter denied three times that he knew the man, now Jesus questions him three times: infinite delicacy to allow him to erase his threefold denial. Hence the confidence that will enable him to follow Christ to the end. 

3. Each time Jesus bases his demand on this adherence of Peter to entrust him with the ministry of shepherding the community: "Shepherd my sheep". Our relationship with Christ has meaning and truth if it fulfils a mission in the service of others. Jesus indeed specifies 'my' sheep: Peter is invited to share the 'burden' of Christ. He does not own the flock, but the care he devotes to Christ's flock will be the test of his love for Christ himself. When Jesus asks him if he loves me more than them, this is not to be understood as 'because you love me more than the others, I entrust the flock to you', but quite the opposite. Precisely because I entrust you with this task, you must love me more, and remember that in any ecclesial context, accepting a pastoral assignment entails a lot of gratuitous love. St Augustine comments: "If you love me, do not think that you are the shepherd; but shepherd my sheep as my own, not as your own."

4. We also have here an account of an apparition of the Risen One, but the term apparition should not mislead us because Jesus does not come from elsewhere and then disappear; on the contrary, he is permanently present with his disciples, with us as he had promised: "I am with you always, until the end of the world" (Mt 28:20). That is why it is better than apparition to use the term manifestation. Christ is Invisible, but not absent, and in the apparitions of then and of all times He makes Himself visible (in Greek: "He gives Himself to, He makes Himself seen"). These manifestations of Christ's presence are a support to strengthen our faith: full of concrete details, sometimes surprising, but with high symbolic value. 

5. What is the significance of the 153 fish? Apparently, exactly one hundred and fifty-three species of fish were known then. For St Eusebius of Caesarea, it is a symbolic way of indicating a maximum yield fishing. And later it becomes the theological symbol of the fullness of salvation wrought by Christ through the Church over the centuries that gathers all, Jews and Gentiles, into one faith.

NOTE: Chapter 20 of the Fourth Gospel concludes by saying that Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book because we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing we have life in his name (20:30-31). It is therefore a good ending and why chapter 21? For many it was added later, almost as a postscriptum to clarify the issue of Peter's pre-eminence, already felt in the early Christian communities. Put another way, Peter's role in an account of Christ's appearance under the pen of St John may come as a surprise, and this points to one of the problems of the early Christian communities. This is why it seemed useful to remind the community linked to the memory of John that, by Christ's will, the pastor of the universal Church is Peter and not John. "When thou art old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall clothe thee, and bring thee whither thou wilt not" (v.18), a phrase that immediately follows the delivery to Peter: "shepherd my sheep" and seems to clearly indicate that the mission entrusted to Peter is one of service and not of domination. At the time, the belt was worn by travellers and servants: here is a double sign for the itinerant servants of the gospel. Peter died faithful in the service of the gospel; this is why John explains: Jesus "said this to indicate by what death he would glorify God"(v.19) and this suggests that this chapter is after Peter's death (during Nero's persecution in 66 or 67). It is generally thought that John's gospel was written very late and some even speculate (starting with Jn 21:23-24) that the final draft was written after his own death.

+Giovanni D'Ercole

Do you Love me? I care for you

(Jn 21:1-19)

The same sign of overfishing, in Lk 5:1-11, is even placed on the day when Jesus invites the first disciples to follow him to become "fishers" of men.

The prodigy of the Vocation expands the believer's journey in Christ and affects every experience we can have of the Risen One in our ordinary work - and what Mission we are entrusted with to experience him Alive.

The Church is not composed of phenomena, but of a stubborn, eager and insecure leader (Peter). Some are in and out (Thomas), others remain tied to the past (Nathanael), and there is no shortage of fanatics (the sons of Zebedee); plus, the anonymous (all of us).

Peter realises that before giving orders, it is he who must do and expose himself: if so, the others will decide spontaneously (v.3).

But without the torch of the Word, no results. Following Peter is not enough.

Here is Jesus: on the Shore of the ultimate condition He calls us and leads the way, guides the activity, and it’s finally Light - the Dawn.

The “net” must be cast on the «side right» (v.6), that is, on the good side!

To bring people up from the abyss of polluted waters and waves of death, we need to start and aim for the best in everyone, to bring out the good [that is there, always].

Appeal for us.

Therefore Peter - each responsible of community - must have no preconceived notions, but take off the cassock of a group leader and put on the apron of a servant [v.7: the Greek verb is that of the ‘washing of feet’].

For work that gives results according to God (love), one must wear the same robe as Christ - the only badge: the garment of someone who doesn’t give orders, but receives them.

It is the trait of the authentic Church - nothing big: it doesn’t arrive on an ocean liner, but on a «little boat» [v.8 Greek text].

And it remains low in size: like a bit of yeast, to embrace anyone.

All this shapes a different awareness of inadequacy: the one in the Faith - only positive, because it understands the brethen. It recognizes them in the depths of itself, and knows how to justify resistance to the Announcement.

We are collaborators of the apron, to dialogue with those in need of recovery, in whatever vortex or peripheral condition they find themselves.

Therefore, «to shepherd» (vv. 15-17) means to precede and feed, not to command.

Those who “lead” must be a sign of a God who is neither fed up nor spiteful.

Lovable and inviting face of the One who is capable of surprising and putting Simon back on his feet as well. The chief apostle, who had been called to freedom and had chosen the condition of lackey [cf. Jn 21:9 with the «fire of embers» in Jn 18:18].

So the "enemy" of God is the pursuit of the ‘average life’. Mire where no one throws himself.

[A reflection for the scoutmaster  reads: «Remember, scout leader: if you slow down, they stop; if you yield, they back off; if you sit down, they lie down. If you walk ahead, they will overtake you; if you give your hand, they will give their skin»].

Now the Message is making one with our body.

Do you Love me? I care for you [like a friend]

(Jn 21:15-19)

Jesus names Simon by the attribute «of John» because He still considers Peter to be spiritually pupil of the Baptist (!).

Despite his oscillations, the Lord puts him back on his feet.

Even with us, the Son never tires of re-proposing a loving and inviting Face of God, capable of astonishing.

For let us remember that the chief apostle had been called to freedom and had chosen the condition of lackey [cf. Jn 21:9 with the «ember fire» in Jn 18:18].

Thus, at the end of a game of reproposals, in the dialogue it is Jesus himself who “settles” for a love of friendship [cf. Greek text] by modifying the double question «do you love me?» with the third: «do you care for me?».

Human love waits for a minimum of satisfaction; it cannot shape itself into pure loss. It waits for little something, at least a nod of approval and gratitude.

No recognition? Then it is the strongest who yields.

'To wait' is the infinitive of the verb to love, because it allows one to be 'born' again.

Human feeling is in a hurry: it regulates its conduct on the basis of the success or perfections of the beloved.

Divine Love recovers, helps one to become another person - it does not break the understanding.

His Calling is not tied to merit or performance.

Even through works, saying «I love you» is [unfortunately not infrequently] a fatuous statement.

Or a sincere expression, but often animated by enthusiasm without deep roots, which on a subsequent test of facts transforms the oath of allegiance into a fragile and uncertain sentiment.

It is the awareness of one's own unpresentability gratuitously redeemed and transformed into the ground of absurd confidence that transforms self-presumption into apostolate!

That is why Jesus asks Peter to start with the little ones of the flock (v.15).

And «to ‘shepherd’» (vv.15-17) means «to feed»: to nurture, to care for, to protect, to foster; to initiate, to risk personally, to defend and to put one's face on - not “to command”.

«To graze the sheep» is to make oneself present, in a continuous flow of references. This is the climate that convinces, educates, nourishes and sustains, allowing to grow and flourish.

«To ‘shepherd’» is not (precisely) to dominate, but food the ideal. And to begin with the tiny flock (v.15).

Well, in order to ensure the "happy" outcome, the true believer, the friend of the Lord, the son of God, does not ally himself with people who matter - then we will see...

Nor must he “fish” proselytes, but rather expand and cheer life.

The fulness of the "result" is the Happiness of every single real woman and man - as they are - not “as should be" according to opinion.

In fact, Jesus does not ask Peter: are you a good administrator? are you a good organizer? are you a skilful animator? Are you well-equipped, intelligent, cunning, smart, well-connected, introduced and versed enough to stand up to your opponents?

In short, what force dehumanises man, instead of deifying him?

God's 'enemy' is not uncertainty, but the quest for the “average life”. Quagmire where one does not throw oneself.

[3rd Easter Sunday (C)  May 4,2025]

Co-workers in an apron, on a little boat

Jn 21:1-19 (1-25)

The same sign of the superabundant fishing in Lk 5:1-11 does not concern the story of the Church after Easter, but is even placed on the day when Jesus invites the first disciples to follow him to become "fishers" of men.

The prodigy of the Vocation expands the believer's journey in Christ and affects every experience we can have of the Risen One in our ordinary work - and what Mission is entrusted to us in order to experience Him Alive.

The Church is not composed of phenomena, but of a stubborn and eager leader [Peter]. Some are in and out [Thomas], others remain tied to the past [Nathanael], and there is no shortage of fanatics [the sons of Zebedee]; hence the anonymous, that is, all of us.

Peter realises that before giving orders, he must do and expose himself: if so, the others, although insubordinate, will decide spontaneously (v.3), expanding their lives.

But without the torch of the Word, no result. Following Peter is not enough and saves no one.

Here is Jesus: on the shore of the ultimate condition he calls us and leads the way, he leads the way, and he is finally Light - the Dawn.

The net must be cast from the "right side" (v.6), that is, from the good side!

To pull people up from the abysses of polluted waters and billows of death to a possibility of respite or self-esteem and full life, one must begin and aim for the best in each, bring out the good that is always there.

Reminder for us. Every culture possesses many qualities: let us build on them, instead of approaching women and men, ethnic groups or situations, by highlighting limitations and problems.

So the Peter - each community leader - must have no preconceptions, but take off the cassock of a group leader and put on the apron of a servant [v.7: the Greek verb is that of the washing of feet].

For a work that gives results according to God (love) one must wear the same robe as Christ - the only badge: the robe of one who does not give orders, but receives them.

This is the trait of the authentic Church - nothing big: it does not arrive on an ocean liner, but on a "little boat" [v.8 Greek text].

And it remains small: like a little leaven, to embrace all.

Despite the difficulties in believing, the disciples are constituted as heralds of the news of God favourable to humanity that intends to travel towards itself - without the baggage of the overwhelming accumulations of manner.

For communion with God and the brethren, in the journey of life and the sense of rebirth that lurks therein [e.g. after pain, travails, experiences of rejection, thoughts of failure and death...]. Jesus had brought out the transmutative capacities already endowed to each person.

His proposal had superseded the oppressive yoke of the external perfections preached by religion, replaced precisely with our simple family virtues, grasped from within. Not: to fight, but to welcome. Not: obey, but resemble. And so on.

The church was not to become an ethical communion of saints, but of sinners and unbelievers. The story of the unbelieving apostles comforts us: we are already empowered, and with aptitude for fullness. But in its reversal.

It is the resurrection that sends us among men, precisely to be regenerated; just like us. So the condition of apostle is not subjected to the usual doctrinal, moralistic, customary, and religious rigmarole; it does not take long to be assumed.

Although self-belief remains fragile, we continually experience resurrection from our rubble - raising or at best regenerating the entire organism of the spirit, and the inner universe.

All this shapes a different consciousness of inadequacy: that in Faith - only positive, because it understands its brothers. He recognises them in the depths of himself, and in this way he knows how to justify the resistance to the Announcement.

For it is in the recovery of opposing sides and the synergy of contradictions that we have become - in our own - experts in difficulty. More able to grasp discomforts; even the feeling of feeling emptied, which sooner or later will give way to reversal; happy unseen.

Then we learnt to listen to emotions: the feeling of being overwhelmed - even in ideas. And the need to grasp and lose ourselves in pains, absurd or unbearable. Dignified sides; faces of ourselves.

In short, for the purpose of vocational fulfilment, everyone is already 'perfect'.

In his load of dissimilar energies, he only has to learn to meet the reliefs of himself that he has not yet made room for.

As if within us we have a multiplicity of aspects, often all to be discovered, behind some shell that resists - which complete us and infallibly guide us to personal and social flowering.

Thus in the exodus we move from death-resurrection experience to true witness - in the spontaneous frankness of being empowered as evangelisers.

Which surprises us. But now the Message becomes our own.

It becomes a call for peace, but an explosive one - unbelievable, and we can see this more from the limits (now nothing to fear) than from the skill, or the external style, the ability to set up sententious cathedrals and showcases.

After Christ, there is no longer any need to 'improve' in the common sense - nor any expectation, or purpose, that they look to and drink from the fountain of what has already been said by others [in the past, or for fashion], which then puts them back in the same predictable situation as always.

For the shaky apostles, consensus, ancient or glamorous religion, identification, were the denial of themselves in the heart.

Conversely, the Calling by Name became the development of what each one was deep inside and had not given himself, manipulating himself.

Road of self-realisation, also in the contribution to the brothers. Also not intimately dissociated.

The only convincing weapon, genuineness - burning within to make us shrines, unconscious and incomplete but living.

Contemplative and in action. The only way to meet souls.

We are collaborators of the apron, to dialogue with those in need of recovery, in whatever whirlwind or peripheral condition they find themselves.

Therefore, 'to shepherd' (vv.15-17) means to precede and nourish, not to command.

Those who lead must be a sign of a God who is not fed up or repentant.

Loving and inviting face of the One who is able to amaze and set Simon on his feet. The chief apostle, who had been called to freedom and had chosen the condition of lackey [cf. Jn 21:9; with the "fire of embers" in Jn 18:18].

At the end of a game of re-proposals, in the dialogue with Simon himself - "of John" because he is still spiritually a pupil of the Baptist (!) - it is Jesus who is "satisfied" with a love of friendship [cf. Greek text] by modifying the double question "do you love me?" with the third: "do you love me?".

Human love waits for a minimum of satisfaction, it is not able to configure itself in pure loss - it waits for something, at least a nod of approval and gratitude.

No acknowledgement? Then it is the strongest that yields.

'To wait' is the infinitive of the verb 'to love', because it allows one to be born again.

Human feeling is in a hurry: it regulates its conduct on the basis of the success or perfections of the beloved.

Divine Love recuperates; it helps one to become another 'person', in the round - it does not break the understanding.

His Calling is not tied to merit or performance: even through works, saying 'I love you' is (unfortunately not infrequently) a fatuous declaration.

Or a sincere expression, but often animated by enthusiasm without deep roots, which upon subsequent proof of the facts transforms the oath of fidelity into a fragile and uncertain sentiment.

It is the awareness of one's own unrepresentability gratuitously redeemed and transformed into the ground of absurd confidence, which turns self-assumption into apostolate!

This is why Jesus asks Peter to begin by starting with the little ones of the flock (v.15).

And "to shepherd" (vv.15.17) or "to shepherd" (v.16) means "to feed": to nourish, to care for, to protect, to favour; to initiate, to risk in the first person, to defend and to put one's face into it - not "to command".

To nurture is to make oneself present, in a continuous of references. It is this climate that convinces, educates, feeds and sustains, allowing it to grow and flourish.

"To 'feed' is [precisely] not to dominate, but to feed the ideal. And to begin with the tiny flock (v.15).

In short, in order to ensure the 'happy' outcome, the true believer, the friend of the Lord, the child of God, does not ally himself with people who count, then we shall see.

Nor must he 'fish' for proselytes, but rather expand and cheer life.

The fullness of the 'result' is the Happiness of each and every real person - as they are - not as they 'should be' according to established opinion.

In fact, Jesus does not ask Peter: are you a good administrator? are you a good organiser? are you a skilful entertainer? are you equipped, intelligent, cunning and introduced enough to stand up to your adversaries?

So God's 'enemy' is not uncertainty or sin - obsession that breeds the unbalanced - but the pursuit of the 'average life'. Mire where one does not throw oneself.

[A reflection for the Scoutmaster reads: "Remember, Scoutmaster: if you slow down, they stop; if you yield, they back off; if you sit down, they lie down. If you walk forward, they will overtake you; if you give your hand, they will give their skin"].

To internalise and live the message:

Are you an envoy or a mere admirer?

What is your personal Source?

What is the Source of your relationships?

And the root of all faithfulness and generosity that draws you, and shows you?

Total love and not

The school of faith is not a triumphal march, but a journey strewn with suffering and love, trials and faithfulness to be renewed every day. Peter, who had promised absolute faithfulness, knows the bitterness and humiliation of denial: the swaggerer learns humility to his cost. Peter too must learn to be weak and in need of forgiveness. When his mask finally falls off and he realises the truth of his weak heart as a believing sinner, he bursts into a liberating cry of repentance. After this weeping he is now ready for his mission.

On a spring morning, this mission will be entrusted to him by the risen Jesus. The meeting will take place on the shores of Lake Tiberias. It is the evangelist John who relates to us the dialogue that takes place between Jesus and Peter on that occasion. There is a very significant play on verbs. In Greek, the verb "filéo" expresses the love of friendship, tender but not all-encompassing, while the verb "agapáo" means love without reserve, total and unconditional. Jesus asks Peter the first time: "Simon... do you love me (agapâs-me)" with this total and unconditional love (cf. Jn 21:15)? Before the experience of betrayal the Apostle would certainly have said: "I love you (agapô-se) unconditionally". Now that he has known the bitter sadness of infidelity, the drama of his own weakness, he says with humility: "Lord, I love you (filô-se)", that is, "I love you with my poor human love". Christ insists: "Simon, do you love me with this total love that I want?". And Peter repeats the answer of his humble human love: "Kyrie, filô-se", "Lord, I love you as I know how to love". At the third time Jesus only says to Simon: "Fileîs-me?", "do you love me?". Simon understands that Jesus only needs his poor love, the only love of which he is capable, and yet he is saddened that the Lord had to say this to him. He therefore answers him: "Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you (filô-se)". One might say that Jesus adapted himself to Peter, rather than Peter to Jesus! It is precisely this divine adaptation that gives hope to the disciple, who has known the suffering of infidelity. Hence the confidence that makes him capable of following until the end: "This he said to indicate by which death he would glorify God. And having said this he added: "Follow me"" (Jn 21:19).

From that day on Peter "followed" the Master with the precise awareness of his own frailty; but this awareness did not discourage him. In fact, he knew he could count on the Risen One's presence beside him. From the naive enthusiasm of his initial adhesion, passing through the painful experience of denial and the weeping of conversion, Peter came to entrust himself to that Jesus who adapted himself to his poor capacity for love. And so he also shows us the way, despite all our weakness. We know that Jesus adapts himself to our weakness. We follow him, with our poor capacity for love, and we know that Jesus is good and accepts us.

(Pope Benedict, General Audience 24 May 2006)

The uniqueness of the Seed and the personalisation of the Gospel

(Jn 21:20-25)

Once again in the fourth Gospel, the Petrine step and character (uncertain) are confronted with that of the disciple loved by the Lord.

In him too, we are called to a loose and liberal personality (more typical of the Johannine communities of Asia Minor) that reflects a less rigid and prophetically superior spirit than the official apostolic church - still Judaizing.

The early Christians looked forward to the so-called Second Coming of the Lord.

Some churches, faced with the death of followers, began to imagine that at least some of them would survive until the Parousia of Christ.

With the passage of time and the death not only of the apostles, but also of second and third generation disciples, disagreements arose over the precedence and interpretation of the Scriptures.

All this, despite the fact that Jn insisted both on the ever-present Presence of the Risen One (and historicity of the Life of the Eternal One) and on the actuality of the ultimate realities and of the Judgment. Conversely, the idea of their futurity remained widespread.

The death of the Evangelist himself shook the communities not a little, disconcerting many believers who imagined that disciple should - at least he - be present at the so-called 'Return' (a term that in the Gospels - in the original language - does not exist).

This is the reason for the addition of a second conclusion to Jn 20:30-31: what we designate "Chapter 21" - a work of the Johannine school, which attempts to clarify the Lord's Nearness, the meaning of the "Manifestations" of the Risen One, the service of authority, the testimony of the "beloved disciple".

The fullness of God shines through the whole Church, if genuine. Vocations are different. None in itself is sufficient.

Each one hears the Call to pursue one's Call by Name according to character: step by step, but without stalling in confrontation.

The opinion, affair or curiosity of others is poison for the Mission. 

Beware, therefore, of hearsay and widespread opinion, especially in situations of cultural monopoly (as is still the case in Italy): it would lead to homologation, "average life" and collapse.

Beware of comparisons: "Me, follow" (v.22 Greek text) means adhering to a Heaven that inhabits each child (in communion, not in a herd).

To each energy, history and sensitivity corresponds an unrepeatable way of being a disciple. No one is a superior model or a facsimile: love erupts in a personal way, always free and unprecedented.

The way of discipleship pointed out and the indeterminate remaining or holding back are correlative and mouldable characteristics or polarities, from which unexpected answers to true questions arise, and the Newness of God.

Differences and ties are recomposed in the Spirit, who knows where to go - calling each singular personality to dimensions of collected or extroverted existence... in its own root.

Those who are driven more to action (or reflection) must not linger, nor turn back; rather, immerse themselves. Each one is in the right place. He must not lose the unique path.

In my garden I have some big pines that provide shade, but one of them suddenly dried up irreparably. It looked like who knows what, in an instant it crashed; unbelievable. It also happens in religious life.

Among my country grass, I notice several small plants blooming - without ever having tended them - which, without artifice, chase away insects, offering the ground a variegated texture and a delicate colour spectacle.

If I imposed on the undergrowth to grow to provide shade, it would become diseased, and the whole thing would not even become a bramble: an unnatural interweaving of inconveniences (imposed of my own accord) that would never fade.

Each seed corresponds to its own development and uniqueness, also in relation to the different situation around it (in the light or otherwise). In short, authentic love has unrepeatable, personal, unprecedented foundations.

It is said that St. Anthony Abbot pondered the Last Judgement (who is saved and who is not?). The answer came to him peremptorily: "Anthony, look after yourself!" - to say that interest in the inclinations and preferences of others is ambiguous. Not always good; sometimes useless. Often fatal and deadly.

If someone is offered as a gift a vocation of special charity - even of blood - others are offered a different kind of unrepeatable witness; e.g. sapiential or critical martyrdom (of the opposed and pioneers).

Even in the life of the Church, instead of losing the character of one's Calling by Name (allowing oneself to be overwhelmed by the overbearing forces in the field), it is spontaneous to proclaim another kingdom than that of the single thought, of consensus, of the clever people in the quarters. They have nothing to do with the Vocation.

We must not be distracted from our natural and innate spiritual purpose. The mystery that envelops Christ unfolded in his People is inexhaustible, and we too are called in the first person to fearlessly write a distinctive Gospel (v.25; cf. Jn 20:29-30).

The difference between religiosity and Faith? We are not photocopies of persistent conduct, but inventors and outriders. Christ wants to be reinterpreted in the first person and in the conviviality of differences.

Each person is recognised by the Master as acting.

Instead, we often sit in external armour, and perhaps even measure the life project and the Mystery of the brothers with the same myopia of commensurate programmes.

God reserves the right to point this out to each one.

Then, too, the 'stabilities' are partial, they await fulfilment: those who bet on the Path of Faith know that they must move away from the spirit of one-sidedness. (The same vigour of the path calls for quiet stillness and convergence. Even 'staying' finally throws its own quiet energy at initiatives...).

The ways of following that resonate deep within the soul are as varied as the people, the events, the commensurate rhythms, the ages.

They embrace the same Proposal - without losing the enduring Mystery or any connection in such versatility.

Only here do Real World, Person, Nature and Eternity come together.

"When the weaver raises one foot, the other lowers. When the movement ceases and one of the feet stops, the weaving stops. His hands throw the bobbin that passes from one to the other; but no hand can hope to hold it. Like the weaver's gestures, it is the union of opposites that weaves our lives'.

(African Peul oral tradition)

To internalise and live the message:

What Gospel do you feel you have to write with your life?

We have heard Jesus' words once again in the Gospel passage just proclaimed. They are part of the account of the third appearance of the Risen One to the disciples, on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, which tells of the miraculous catch. 

After the "scandal" of the Cross, the disciples had returned to their land and their work as fishermen, to the activities they had carried out before they met Jesus. They had returned to their previous life and this suggests the atmosphere of dispersion and bewilderment that prevailed in their communities (cf. Mk 14: 27; Mt 26: 31). 

It was difficult for the disciples to understand what had happened. But while everything seemed to have ended, once again, as on the road to Emmaus, it was Jesus who came to his friends. This time he met them by the lake, a place that evokes the trials and tribulations of life; he met them when day was breaking, after a futile night-long effort. 

Their nets were empty. In a certain way, this seems to sum up their experience with Jesus: they had known him, they had been beside him, and he had promised them so many things. Nevertheless, they found themselves with empty nets and no fish. 

Yet, here at dawn Jesus comes to meet them, even though they do not immediately recognize him (cf. v. 4). 

"Daybreak" in the Bible often points to God's extraordinary interventions. In the Book of Exodus, for example, it was "in the morning watch" that the Lord intervened "in the pillar of fire and of cloud" to save his people in the flight to Egypt (cf. Ex 14: 24). And again it was dawn when Mary Magdalene and the other women who had hastened to the tomb met the Risen Lord. 

In the Gospel passage on which we are meditating, night had also passed and the Lord said to the disciples, exhausted by their efforts and disappointed at having caught no fish: "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some" (v. 6). 

Fish usually fall into the net at night when it is dark and not in the morning, by which time the water is transparent. Yet the disciples trusted Jesus and the result was a miraculously abundant catch with such a quantity of fish that they were unable to haul in the net (cf. v. 6). 

At this point John, enlightened by love, turned to Peter and said: "It is the Lord!" (v. 7). The perceptive look of the disciple whom Jesus loved - an image of the believer - recognized the Teacher present on the lake shore. "It is the Lord!": his spontaneous profession of faith is also an invitation to us to proclaim that the Risen Christ is the Lord of our life. 

Dear brothers and sisters, may the Church in Vigevano repeat this evening with John's enthusiasm: Jesus Christ "is the Lord!". And may your diocesan Community be able to listen to the Lord, who through my words repeats to you: "Cast the net, Church of Vigevano, and you will find some!". 

Indeed, I have come among you above all to encourage you to be daring witnesses of Christ. It is trusting adherence to his Word that will make your pastoral efforts fruitful. When work in the Lord's vineyard seems to have been in vain like the nightlong efforts of the Apostles, you must never forget that Jesus can reverse everything in an instant. 

The Gospel passage we have heard reminds us, on the one hand, that we must dedicate ourselves to pastoral activities as if the result depended totally on our own efforts. Yet, on the other, it makes us realize that the true success of our mission is totally a gift of Grace. 

In the mysterious plans of his wisdom, God knows when the time is to intervene.

Therefore, just as docile adherence to the Lord's words ensured that the disciples' net would be filled, so in every age, even our own, the Spirit can make the Church's mission in the world effective [...].

May these words of the Lord give you constant guidance: "All men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13: 35). Bear one another's burdens; sharing, collaborating and feeling co-responsible for one another is the spirit that must constantly motivate your Community. This style of communion demands the contribution of all: the Bishop and priests, the men and women religious, the lay faithful, the associations and the various groups committed to the apostolate. 

The individual parishes, like the pieces of a mosaic in full harmony with one another, will form a lively particular Church, organically inserted into the entire People of God [...].

"Cast the net... and you will find some!". Jesus' command was docilely accepted by the saints and their lives were marked by the miracle of an abundant spiritual catch. [...] Mirror these models, who make the action of Grace manifest and are an encouragement to the People of God to follow Christ on the demanding path of holiness.

(Pope Benedict, homily Vigevano 21 April 2007)

1. "Just as the day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach" (Jn 21: 4). At the crack of dawn, the Risen One appeared to the Apostles, who had just returned after a night of unsuccessful fishing on the lake of Tiberias. The Evangelist explains that on that night "they caught nothing" (Jn 21: 3) and adds that they had nothing to eat. They obeyed Jesus' invitation:  "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some" (Jn 21: 6) without hesitation. Their response was prompt and their reward great, because all night long their net had been empty and now, "they were not able to haul it in for the great quantity of fish" (Jn 21: 6). 

How can we not see in this episode, which St John mentions in the epilogue of his Gospel, an eloquent sign of what the Lord continues to do in the Church and in the hearts of believers who trust in him without reserve? The five Servants of God whom I have had the joy of raising to the honour of the altars today are special witnesses of the extraordinary gift which the risen Christ lavishes upon every baptized person:  the gift of holiness. 

Blessed are those who make this mysterious gift fruitful, allowing the Holy Spirit to conform their lives to Christ who died and was raised! Blessed are you who shine today like bright stars in the firmament of the Church:  Manuel González García, Bishop, Founder of the Congregation of the Misioneras Eucarísticas de Nazaret; Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodríguez Santiago, layman; Marie Anne Blondin, virgin, foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of St Anne; Caterina Volpicelli, virgin, foundress of the Servants of the Sacred Heart; Caterina Cittadini, virgin, foundress of the Ursuline Sisters of Somasca. 

Each one of you, in promising yourselves to Christ, made the Gospel the your rule of life. Thus you became his faithful disciples, having drawn that newness of life, inaugurated by the mystery of the Resurrection, from the inexhaustible spring of his love.

2. "That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord' " (Jn 21: 7). In the Gospel we have heard that seeing the miracle worked, a disciple recognizes Jesus. The others will recognize him later. In presenting to us Jesus who "came and took the bread and gave it to them" (Jn 21: 13), the Gospel points out how and when we can meet the risen Christ:  in the Eucharist, where Jesus is truly present under the appearances of bread and wine. It would be sad if, after so long, the Saviour's loving presence were still to be unknown by humanity. 

This was the great passion of the new blessed, Bl. Manuel González García, Bishop of Malaga and later of Palencia. His experience before a deserted tabernacle in Palomares del Río was to mark his whole life, and from that moment he dedicated himself to spreading devotion to the Eucharist, proclaiming the words he subsequently chose as his epitaph:  "Here is Jesus! He is here! Do not abandon him!" Bl. Manuel González, founder of the Misioneras Eucarísticas de Nazaret, is a model of Eucharistic faith whose example continues to speak to the Church today. 

3. "None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?'. They knew it was the Lord" (Jn 21: 12). When the disciples recognize him by the lake of Tiberias, their faith in Christ, risen and present among his disciples, is strengthened. For two millennia the Church has not tired of proclaiming and repeating this fundamental truth of faith.

6. "Lord; you know that I love you" (Jn 21: 15; cf. vv. 16, 17).

[Pope John Paul II, homily 29 April 2001]

1. The promise Jesus made to Simon Peter, to make him the cornerstone of his Church, is reflected in the mandate Christ entrusts to him after the resurrection: "Feed my lambs", "Shepherd my sheep" (Jn 21:15-17). There is an objective relationship between the conferring of the mission attested by John's account, and the promise reported by Matthew (cf. Mt 16:18-19). In Matthew's text there was an announcement. In John's there is the fulfilment of the announcement. The words: "Shepherd my sheep" manifest Jesus' intention to ensure the future of the Church he founded, under the leadership of a universal shepherd, namely Peter, to whom he said that, by his grace, he would be "stone" and who would have the "keys of the kingdom of heaven", with the power "to bind and loose". Jesus, after the resurrection, gives concrete form to the proclamation and promise of Caesarea Philippi, establishing Peter's authority as the pastoral ministry of the Church, on a universal scale.

2. Let us say at once that this pastoral mission includes the task of 'confirming the brethren' in the faith, which we dealt with in the previous catechesis. "Confirming the brethren" and "shepherding the sheep" jointly constitute Peter's mission: one might say the proprium of his universal ministry. As the First Vatican Council states, the constant tradition of the Church has rightly held that Peter's apostolic primacy 'also includes the supreme power of magisterium' (cf.) Both the primacy and the power of magisterium are conferred directly by Jesus on Peter as a singular person, even though both prerogatives are ordered to the Church, without however deriving from the Church, but only from Christ. The primacy is given to Peter (cf. Mt 16, 18) as - the expression is Augustine's - "totius Ecclesiae figuram gerenti" (Epist., 53, 1.2), i.e. insofar as he personally represents the whole Church; and the task and power of magisterium is conferred on him as confirmed faith so that it may be confirmatory for all the "brethren" (cf. Lk 22, 31 f). But everything is in the Church and for the Church, of which Peter is the foundation, claviger and shepherd in its visible structure, in the name and by mandate of Christ.

3. Jesus had foretold this mission to Peter not only at Caesarea Philippi, but also in the first miraculous catch of fish, when, to Simon who recognised himself as a sinner, he had said: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be a fisher of men" (Lk 5:10). On that occasion, Jesus had reserved this announcement for Peter personally, distinguishing him from his companions and associates, among whom were the "sons of Zebedee", James and John (cf. Lk 5:10). Also in the second miraculous fishing, after the resurrection, the person of Peter emerges in the midst of the other Apostles, according to John's description of the event (John 21, 2 ff), almost as if to hand down the memory of it in the framework of a prophetic symbolism of the fruitfulness of the mission entrusted by Christ to those fishermen.

4. When Jesus is about to confer the mission on Peter, he addresses him with an official appellation: "Simon, son of John" (Jn 21, 15), but then takes on a familiar and friendly tone: "Do you love me more than these men?". This question expresses an interest in the person of Simon Peter and is related to his election for a personal mission. Jesus formulates it three times, not without an implicit reference to the threefold denial. And Peter gives an answer that is not based on trust in his own personal strengths and abilities, on his own merits. He now knows well that he must place all his trust in Christ alone: "Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you" (Jn 21:17). Clearly, the task of a shepherd requires a special love for Christ. But it is he, it is God who gives everything, even the ability to respond to the vocation, to fulfil one's mission. Yes, it must be said that 'everything is grace', especially at that level!

5. And having received the desired response, Jesus confers on Simon Peter the pastoral mission: "Shepherd my lambs"; "Shepherd my sheep". It is like an extension of the mission of Jesus, who said of himself: "I am the good Shepherd" (John 10, 11). Jesus, who shared with Simon his quality of "stone", also communicates to him his mission as "shepherd". It is a communication that implies an intimate communion, which also transpires from Jesus' formulation: 'Shepherd my lambs . . . my sheep'; as he had already said: 'On this rock I will build my Church' (Mt 16:18). The Church is Christ's property, not Peter's. Lambs and sheep belong to Christ, and to no one else. They belong to him as to the "good Shepherd", who "lays down his life for his sheep" (John 10: 11). Peter must take on the pastoral ministry to men redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Pet 1:19). On the relationship between Christ and men, who have become His property through redemption, is based the character of service that marks the power attached to the mission conferred on Peter: service to Him who alone is "shepherd and guardian of our souls" (1 Pet 2:25), and at the same time to all those whom Christ the Good Shepherd has redeemed at the price of the sacrifice of the cross. Moreover, the content of this service is clear: just as the shepherd leads the sheep to the places where they can find food and safety, so the shepherd of souls must offer them the food of God's word and his holy will (cf. Jn 4:34), ensuring the unity of the flock and defending it from every hostile incursion.

6. Of course, mission entails power, but for Peter - and for his successors - it is a power ordered to service, a specific service, a ministerium. Peter receives it in the community of the Twelve. He is one of the community of the Apostles. But there is no doubt that Jesus, both through the proclamation (cf. Mt 16:18-19), and through the conferring of the mission after his resurrection, relates in a special way to Peter what he transmits to all the Apostles, as mission and as power. Only to him Jesus says: 'Shepherd', repeating it to him three times. It follows that, in the context of the common task of the Twelve, a mission and a power are delineated for Peter, which belong to him alone.

7. Jesus addresses Peter as an individual in the midst of the Twelve, not merely as a representative of them: "Do you love me more than these Twelve? This subject - Peter's you - is asked for the declaration of love and is given this singular mission and authority. Peter is thus distinct among the other Apostles. Even the threefold repetition of the question about Peter's love, probably in connection with his threefold denial of Christ, emphasises the fact of the conferral on him of a particular ministerium, as a decision of Christ Himself, independently of any quality or merit of the Apostle, and indeed despite his momentary infidelity.

8. The communion in the messianic mission, established by Jesus with Peter through that mandate: "Shepherd my lambs . . .", cannot but entail a participation of the Apostle-Shepherd in the sacrificial state of Christ the Good Shepherd "who offers his life for his sheep". This is the key to the interpretation of many events in the history of the pontificate of Peter's successors. Over the whole arc of this history hovers that prediction of Jesus: "When you are old you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not want" (Jn 21:18). It was the prediction of the confirmation that Peter would give to his pastoral ministry with death by martyrdom. As John says, by such death Peter would "glorify God" (Jn 21:19). The pastoral service entrusted to Peter in the Church would have its consummation in his participation in the sacrifice of the cross, offered by Christ for the redemption of the world. The cross, which had redeemed Peter, would thus have become for him the privileged means to fully exercise his task as "Servant of the servants of God".

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 9 December 1992]

Today’s Gospel recounts the third apparition of the Risen Jesus to the disciples, with the account of the miraculous catch on the shore of the lake of Galilee (cf. Jn 21:1-19). The narrative is situated in the context of the everyday life of the disciples, who returned to their land and to their work as fishermen, after the shocking days of the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. It was difficult for them to understand what had taken place. Even though everything seemed finished, Jesus “seeks” his disciples once more. It is He who goes to seek them. This time he meets them at the lake, where they have spent the night in their boats catching nothing. The nets appear empty, in a certain sense, like the tally of their experience with Jesus: they met him, they left everything to follow him, full of hope... and now? Yes, they saw he was risen, but then they were thought: “He went away and left us.... It was like a dream...”.

So it is that at sunrise Jesus presents himself on the lakeshore; however they do not recognize him (cf. v. 4). The Lord says to those tired and disappointed fishermen: “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some” (v. 6). The disciples trust in Jesus and the result is an incredibly abundant catch. At this point John turns to Peter and says: “It is the Lord!” (v. 7). Right away Peter throws himself into the water and swims to the shore, toward Jesus. In that exclamation: “It is the Lord!”, there is all the enthusiasm of the Paschal faith, full of joy and wonder, which sharply contrasts with the disappearance, the dejection, the sense of powerlessness that had accumulated in the disciples’ hearts. The presence of the Risen Jesus transforms everything: darkness has become light, futile work has again become fruitful and promising, the sense of weariness and abandonment give way to a new impetus and to the certainty that He is with us.

From that time, these same sentiments enliven the Church, the Community of the Risen One. All of us are the community of the Risen One! At first glance it might sometimes seem that the darkness of evil and the toil of daily living have got the upper hand, the Church knows with certainty that the now everlasting light of Easter shines upon those who follow the Lord Jesus. The great message of the Resurrection instills in the hearts of believers profound joy and invincible hope. Christ is truly risen! Today too, the Church continues to make this joyous message resound: joy and hope continue to flow in hearts, in faces, in gestures, in words. We Christians are all called to communicate this message of resurrection to those we meet, especially to those who suffer, to those who are alone, to those who find themselves in precarious conditions, to the sick, to refugees, to the marginalized. Let us make a ray of the light of the Risen Christ, a sign of his powerful mercy, reach everyone.

May he, the Lord, also renew in us the Paschal faith. May he render us ever more aware of our mission at the service of the Gospel and of our brothers and sisters; may he fill us with his Holy Spirit so that, sustained by the intercession of Mary, with all the Church we may proclaim the greatness of his love and the abundance of his mercy.

[Pope Francis, Regina Coeli 10 April 2016]

The Other Way, Truth, Life, in the human dimension

(Jn 14:6-14)

Divine hands have wounds of love, they are not claws. They tread the alternative «way» of work, of building and welcoming; a truly special, disinterested, unreflected trajectory.

Hands marked by what one wishes for the world: open, not clenched into a fist - if anything, with that gentle grip that says: «I am with You».

They accompany «the way» that makes the weak become strong. «Way» that expands our horizon to conquer the land of Freedom.

He is «the Truth». We know what happens to news when it passes from mouth to mouth: it becomes defaced.

But united with the True Person - intertwined with his story - we encounter ourselves, we know the divine ‘Fidelity’ [‘Truth’], we choose substance instead of conventional, conformist or volatile ideas (we would become external).

«I Am the Life». The Father expands and enhances inclinations, our existential reaching; He does not vampirize us as if He were the one who needs something.

He is the Totality of Being, and Source in action; springing of particular essences.

His Calling is Seed; a Root that characterizes and expands Life, making it singular, more distinctive; unique, unrepeatable; meaningful and relational.

To build an alternative society capable of creating well-being: smiles and amazement flowing out, cheering everyone up.

«Let us see the Father» (cf. vv.8-9) is the plea - often anonymous - that from the very beginning has accompanied the believers’ People, who spontaneously reveal their Lord as the Way, the Truth and the Life (v.6).

And the Church that reflects Christ is the ‘outgoing’ one, which does not become complacent about its static goals, but moves [precisely: «Way»] from Exodus to Exodus, to improve itself before correcting others.

The assembly of sons is therefore not afraid of becoming impure by frequenting the cultural and existential peripheries, because it has understood the authentic face of God. Father, Mother, deep Core, Friend.

«Faithful» [«Truth», in the theological sense] who is not afraid to mix with earthly affairs.

He does not flee the critical scrutiny; nor does he abandon those who stray, or those who cannot bear conformist obligations, or who find themselves in penury.

Authentic community is capable of coexistence and reciprocity: that of «the Life» which shows Father and Son in act [Initiative and Correspondence].

In the Spirit, such a Family recovers each person's journey and restores wholeness, fullness of being without boundaries, even to those who have lost hope or self-esteem.

Difference with ancient religion? The Eternal is no longer revealed in the awesome power of sensational outward manifestations: fire, earthquake, thunders and lightnings.

God is not the preserve of those who show great energy.

In the hearths of Faith, the Person of Christ is made present in his being, in his troubled and real life [«in the Name»: vv.13-14].

It is in such a people that God dreams an immediate reflection of ideas, words, works; and mutual immanence.

For the efficacious event of the Father is all in the flesh of the Son. Their Dream, in the human dimension of believers.

[St Philip and James, May 3]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

While we continue to outline the features of the various Apostles, as we have been doing for several weeks, today we meet Philip. He always comes fifth in the lists of the Twelve (cf. Mt 10: 3; Mk 3: 18; Lk 6: 14; Acts 1: 13); hence, he is definitely among the first.

Although Philip was of Jewish origin, his name is Greek, like that of Andrew, and this is a small sign of cultural openness that must not be underestimated. The information we have on him is provided by John's Gospel. Like Peter and Andrew, he is a native of Bethsaida (cf. Jn 1: 44), a town that belonged to the Tetrarchy of a son of Herod the Great, who was also called Philip (cf. Lk 3: 1).

The Fourth Gospel recounts that after being called by Jesus, Philip meets Nathanael and tells him: "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (Jn 1: 45). Philip does not give way to Nathanael's somewhat sceptical answer ("Can anything good come out of Nazareth?") and firmly retorts: "Come and see!" (Jn 1: 46).

In his dry but clear response, Philip displays the characteristics of a true witness: he is not satisfied with presenting the proclamation theoretically, but directly challenges the person addressing him by suggesting he have a personal experience of what he has been told.

The same two verbs are used by Jesus when two disciples of John the Baptist approach him to ask him where he is staying. Jesus answers: "Come and see" (cf. Jn 1: 38-39).

We can imagine that Philip is also addressing us with those two verbs that imply personal involvement. He is also saying to us what he said to Nathanael: "Come and see". The Apostle engages us to become closely acquainted with Jesus.

In fact, friendship, true knowledge of the other person, needs closeness and indeed, to a certain extent, lives on it. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that according to what Mark writes, Jesus chose the Twelve primarily "to be with him" (Mk 3: 14); that is, to share in his life and learn directly from him not only the style of his behaviour, but above all who he really was.

Indeed, only in this way, taking part in his life, could they get to know him and subsequently, proclaim him.

Later, in Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, one would read that what is important is to "learn Christ" (4: 20): therefore, not only and not so much to listen to his teachings and words as rather to know him in person, that is, his humanity and his divinity, his mystery and his beauty. In fact, he is not only a Teacher but a Friend, indeed, a Brother.

How will we be able to get to know him properly by being distant? Closeness, familiarity and habit make us discover the true identity of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Philip reminds us precisely of this. And thus he invites us to "come" and "see", that is, to enter into contact by listening, responding and communion of life with Jesus, day by day.

Then, on the occasion of the multiplication of the loaves, he received a request from Jesus as precise as it was surprising: that is, where could they buy bread to satisfy the hunger of all the people who were following him (cf. Jn 6: 5). Then Philip very realistically answered: "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little" (Jn 6: 7).

Here one can see the practicality and realism of the Apostle who can judge the effective implications of a situation.

We then know how things went. We know that Jesus took the loaves and after giving thanks, distributed them. Thus, he brought about the multiplication of the loaves.

It is interesting, however, that it was to Philip himself that Jesus turned for some preliminary help with solving the problem: this is an obvious sign that he belonged to the close group that surrounded Jesus.

On another occasion very important for future history, before the Passion some Greeks who had gone to Jerusalem for the Passover "came to Philip... and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus'. Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus" (cf. Jn 12: 20-22).

Once again, we have an indication of his special prestige within the Apostolic College. In this case, Philip acts above all as an intermediary between the request of some Greeks - he probably spoke Greek and could serve as an interpreter - and Jesus; even if he joined Andrew, the other Apostle with a Greek name, he was in any case the one whom the foreigners addressed.

This teaches us always to be ready to accept questions and requests, wherever they come from, and to direct them to the Lord, the only one who can fully satisfy them. Indeed, it is important to know that the prayers of those who approach us are not ultimately addressed to us, but to the Lord: it is to him that we must direct anyone in need. So it is that each one of us must be an open road towards him!

There is then another very particular occasion when Philip makes his entrance. During the Last Supper, after Jesus affirmed that to know him was also to know the Father (cf. Jn 14: 7), Philip quite ingenuously asks him: "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied" (Jn 14: 8). Jesus answered with a gentle rebuke: "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father: how can you say, "Show us the Father?' Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me?... Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me" (Jn 14: 9-11).

These words are among the most exalted in John's Gospel. They contain a true and proper revelation. At the end of the Prologue to his Gospel, John says: "No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known" (Jn 1: 18).

Well, that declaration which is made by the Evangelist is taken up and confirmed by Jesus himself, but with a fresh nuance. In fact, whereas John's Prologue speaks of an explanatory intervention by Jesus through the words of his teaching, in his answer to Philip Jesus refers to his own Person as such, letting it be understood that it is possible to understand him not only through his words but rather, simply through what he is.

To express ourselves in accordance with the paradox of the Incarnation we can certainly say that God gave himself a human face, the Face of Jesus, and consequently, from now on, if we truly want to know the Face of God, all we have to do is to contemplate the Face of Jesus! In his Face we truly see who God is and what he looks like!

The Evangelist does not tell us whether Philip grasped the full meaning of Jesus' sentence. There is no doubt that he dedicated his whole life entirely to him. According to certain later accounts (Acts of Philip and others), our Apostle is said to have evangelized first Greece and then Frisia, where he is supposed to have died, in Hierapolis, by a torture described variously as crucifixion or stoning.

Let us conclude our reflection by recalling the aim to which our whole life must aspire: to encounter Jesus as Philip encountered him, seeking to perceive in him God himself, the heavenly Father. If this commitment were lacking, we would be reflected back to ourselves as in a mirror and become more and more lonely! Philip teaches us instead to let ourselves be won over by Jesus, to be with him and also to invite others to share in this indispensable company; and in seeing, finding God, to find true life.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 6 September 2006]