An Encounter with the Risen Lord Transforms and Empowers Us

 

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year C

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Bible Texts: Acts 5:27-32, 40b–41; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

Since the celebration of Easter, we have been reading about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples. In today’s gospel, we read about his appearance to Peter and the other six disciples while they were fishing at the Sea of Tiberias. 

The death of Jesus was a traumatic experience for the disciples. The uncertainty following the Resurrection made them return to what was familiar to them, their profession. Peter, the fisherman decided to leave his task of catching men and went back to catching fish. Surprisingly, they tried but caught nothing (John 21:3). This points back to Luke 5, where they had also toiled all night without success - until Jesus intervened. 

The empty net is symbolic: without Christ, our efforts are barren and fruitless. No amount of skill or experience can substitute for his presence. Also, like the disciples, many times, we return to old ways after failure or spiritual fatigue. But then, today’s gospel reminds us that Jesus does not abandon us there.

The gospel passage tells us that when it was already dawn, Jesus appeared to the distraught disciples. At dawn is a symbol of new beginnings. Jesus stood on the shore (John 21:4) but they did not recognize him immediately, just as Mary Magdalene (John 20:14) and the two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) did not at first. Then Jesus asked, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” (v.5). This affectionate address points to Jesus’ fatherly concern, not judgment. Despite their abandonment, Jesus still cared for them. And when they obeyed his command to cast the net on the right side, the result was overwhelming abundance.

The charcoal fire with fish and bread which they found on reaching the shore is also symbolic. The “charcoal fire” is mentioned only one other time in the Gospel - in the courtyard of the high priest, where Peter denied Jesus three times (John 18:18). The parallel is intentional: Jesus was recreating the scene of Peter’s failure not to shame him, but to heal him. That was why immediately after that, Jesus asked Peter three times: “Do you love me?” - corresponding to his three denials. The Greek text reveals a nuance: Jesus first used agapē (divine, sacrificial love), while Peter replied with phileō (brotherly love). By the third time, Jesus met Peter at his level (phileō), showing that Divine Mercy stoops to lift us up.

Each response from Peter came with a commission from Jesus: “Feed my lambs… Tend my sheep… Feed my sheep.” What this tells us is that mercy restores us not only to forgiveness but to mission. This is clearly portrayed in the first reading. Peter who was once afraid and in hiding, boldly declared before the Sanhedrin: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). What caused such transformation? It was the same Peter who was restored on the shore of Galilee. The experience of mercy and forgiveness empowered him to witness even at the cost of suffering.

Dear friend, let us keep in mind that Divine Mercy is not passive pity; it is active love that restores and commissions. Peter’s journey mirrors our own: failure, encounter, healing, and mission. The Eucharistic undertone in the Gospel (bread, fish, meal with Jesus) reminds us that every Mass is an encounter with the Risen Lord who nourishes us and says again: “Follow me.” Just as an encounter with the Risen Lord transforms us into courageous witnesses so does our encounter with the Eucharist. Also, the Church is called to be a community of mercy - bold in witness, joyful in suffering, and faithful in love. Just as Peter was not disqualified by his failure, we too are not defined by our past but by the mercy of God.

Lastly, the Easter journey continues. The Risen Lord still stands on the shores of our ordinary lives. He still calls out to us in our failures, still invites us to dine with him in the Eucharist, and still asks: “Do you love me?” Let us respond not with perfect love, but with humble hearts open to grace. Like Peter, let us allow the encounter with Divine Mercy to transform our weakness into strength and our shame into mission. Amen.