MAY 5TH, 2019: THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41 Revelation 5:11-14 John 21:1-19
An inherent problem in appreciating Scripture is that a lot of things which happened over a long period of time are often telescoped by our sacred authors to appear they took place more quickly. The apostles’ understanding of Jesus’ resurrection provides a classic example. The angels at the empty tomb, the women’s experiences and Jesus’ Easter Sunday appearances seem to have provided his disciples all the proof they needed to convince them he’d truly risen. And all this happens in less than 24 hours. Thankfully someone attached today’s chapter 21 to John’s finished gospel to let us know it didn’t happen exactly that way. The vast majority of today’s scholars are convinced our first reading contains the earliest account of a post-resurrection appearance of Jesus we have. There are no angels, no prior appearances. After their disastrous Passover pilgrimage, Jesus’ disciples trek back to Capernaum and do what most people do when their world has crashed, just mope around, doing nothing. Probably in that condition for weeks, Peter finally does what Elizabeth Kubler Ross tells us we all must eventually do: return to work. “I’m going back to fishing,” he announces. It’s only when the Rock and his fellow fishermen return to doing what they did before they encountered Jesus of Nazareth that they discover this itinerant preacher is now present in their lives in a new, unique way, present especially when they share a meal, something they had often done with the historical Jesus. Yet notice there’s not ironclad recognition of the risen Jesus, either at the sea or on the shore. Only the “beloved disciple” recognizes him from the boat, and though all recognize him during the meal, some seem to still have questions about whether it’s the Christ or not. But it’s a significant aspect of John’s theology that when they recognize the risen Jesus, they also recognize they’ve been called by him/her. Peter provides the example. In a classic reversal of his three denials, this leader of the apostolic community now professes his love three times. Like Jesus, he’s a changed person. Luke also zeroes in on Peter’s changed personality. All his gospel readers remember how he cowered from a serving girl on the night Jesus was tried. Yet now in Acts, just a few weeks later, he boldly stands up in public and challenges the high priest’s command to “stop preaching in (Jesus’) name.” Though he once feared the suffering that would be his by admitting his association with this Capernaum carpenter, he now “rejoices that (he) had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” What once brought pain and death, now brings life. Likewise the author of Revelation looks at the “Lamb’s” suffering and death through different eyes. By enduring such pain, he wasn’t destroyed, he was “enthroned.” But, as I mentioned above, it took some time for Jesus’ followers to reach that amazing conclusion. Presuming the weakness of our human nature, it’s almost impossible for us to instantly morph into the individuals the risen Jesus expects us to be. That’s why we shouldn’t feel inferior to our biblical heroes. Those who described their scriptural transformations weren’t interested in setting up a timeline for us to copy; they were much more concerned with giving us an ideal picture of what our own transformations should one day become. I’d personally love to find out how long it actually took Jesus’ disciples to put two and two together and discover the meaning of the empty tomb, or for Peter to build up the courage to eventually “witness” for the risen Jesus. I presume those closest to the historical Jesus would be the first to understand that, in old age, I’m still trying to become another Christ.
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