I have often joked that feasting at Easter is very biblical because when Jesus returned from the dead, he ate with the disciples. Of course, feasting on joyful occasions is very much a biblical value. But Jesus eating after the resurrection means more than just a celebration.
When the Gospels were written, a philosophical movement called Gnosticism was popular in some circles. Gnostics believed that there were two gods, an evil god who had created the material world and a good god who had created the spiritual world. They believed that humans were a part of the divine spiritual spark that got trapped in the evil material world and that the goal of life was to be freed from matter and return to the spiritual realm. They considered marriage and procreation to be evil because having children perpetuated the entrapment of the spiritual spark in evil matter. The Gnostics had no organized structure of their own, but instead they infiltrated the religious organizations of others and reinterpreted the existing tenets and practices of those groups to suit their outlook.
The Gnostics sought to infiltrate Christianity too and to impose their own ideas about good and evil on the Christian faith. Specifically, they claimed that the physical world was an evil creation and that the goal of Christianity was to leave the physical behind completely and to return to a purely spiritual state. They did not believe that Jesus was truly human, that he actually experienced the crucifixion, or that he had really risen from the dead. They held that Christ was merely a spirit and so only a spirit appeared to the disciples after the crucifixion.
The Apostle John very deliberately refutes the Gnostic ideology throughout his Gospel. Let us consider four examples. We see at the start of the Gospel that the Word becomes flesh, quite contrary to the Gnostic perspective. Christ also starts his public ministry by turning water into wine at a wedding, thereby blessing the institution of marriage. After his resurrection, Christ appears physically to the disciples. He can be physically touched. He asks for food to eat. He also makes breakfast for them to eat with them.
John's message is clear. The humanity of Christ is not a mere illusion. God has truly taken on human nature and has become one of us. The physical world, though marred by sin, is fundamentally good in its origin. Our goal is not to reject and escape the physical part of ourselves but to bring it into harmony with the spiritual. As human beings, we are both body and soul. Our two parts are separated in death, but they will be joined together again in the resurrection, when we will receive a new body, which will no longer be subject to suffering, pain, and death. Our eternal calling, our existential fulfillment is to worship Christ with our whole being eternally, our body and soul, which is our only true fulfillment.
The message of Christ is so powerful that it takes the disciples some time to fully understand the graces he wants to give them even after the resurrection. In this Sunday's Gospel passage, the apostles already believe that Christ has risen from the dead, but they have returned to their former way of life, the fishing business they were running before Christ called them to follow him.
But Jesus shows them that without him, they can do nothing. Their labors bear no fruit until they receive Christ's grace. The same is true for all of us. Whatever we are doing, whether ministry or the tasks of day-to-day life, we need Christ for our efforts to bear true fruit.
Jesus calls the Apostles back to ministry. He is going to work through them to transform the world. In this passage, he specifically speaks to Peter, the head of the apostles. Peter had denied him three times and now Christ questions him three times about his love for him, giving Peter the opportunity to show his repentance.
Many Scripture commentators have said that the wording of the original Greek text is significant here. When Jesus first asks Peter "do you love me" (John 21:15), he uses the Greek verb agapao, which is a strong word for love. But when Peter says "you know that I love you" (John 21:15), he is responding with the Greek verb phileo, which is a weaker word than agapao. Once again Jesus questions Peter with the strong word and once again Peter responds with the weaker one. Finally, the third time, Jesus questions Peter using the weaker verb phileo and Peter responds using the same weaker word.
Jesus sees Peter's weakness and meets him where he is. Peter is not yet capable of the greatest love, so Christ accepts what he can do. But in time, Peter will learn to love with total love. As we see in the First Reading, empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter becomes fearless in the face of persecution. In time, he will accept martyrdom and will be crucified upside down in Rome.
The spot where Peter was crucified is right next to where St. Peter's Basilica stands today. The humble fisherman became the head of the Church founded by Christ. The mighty Roman Empire which sought to eradicate the Church was unsuccessful and instead crumbled and fell.
In the Second Reading, taken from The Book of Revelation, we see Christ's heavenly court, showing his eternal power. Throughout the Book of Revelation, the heavenly power of Christ is shown in contrast with the earthly powers that melt away. Mighty empires fall. Great armies fade away. But Christ reigns now and forever.
Christ is the true ruler of the world. Our task is to build his kingdom upon the earth with our lives, in all that we do, whether we are engaged in day-to-day tasks or works of ministry. Let us work to reshape the world to be centered in Christ, who brings about a new order in the universe governed by infinite love.
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The readings for the Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle C, are:
Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: Church of the Primacy of St Peter, the site where Christ told Peter to feed his sheep, from Wikimedia Commons.
