Commentary: Today’s first reading recounts the happenings of some of the earliest days of the church. After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Apostles and other disciples of Jesus proclaimed the gospel to those in Jerusalem first, and later to people all over the Roman empire. While many accepted the message and were converted and baptized, many also rejected it. This was especially true in Jerusalem of the Jewish leaders. The governing council of the Jews was called the Sanhedrin. In today’s reading, the Apostles were brought before this council and put on trial. Previously, they had been charged not to preach in the name of Jesus. But they had disregarded that order for as they say here, “We must obey God rather than men.” Once again, the Sanhedrin charges them not to preach in the name of Jesus. And, once again, they will disregard that order and continue to spread the message of the gospel. Why? Their faith and courage is something we can emulate. They chose to obey God rather than men and suffered because of that. Yet, they rejoiced in their sufferings for the sake of Christ. Let us, therefore, also obey God, even when it is not popular or socially acceptable to do so, and rejoice even if we suffer because of doing God’s will.
Commentary: Today we continue to hear from the mysterious revelations of the Apostle John on the island of Patmos. In his vision of heaven, John saw the throne of God and surrounding it were “living creatures” and “elders.” The “living creatures” are the angels and the “elders” represent all the saints. Both of these groups were “countless in number.” They were proclaiming unending praise of “the Lamb that was slain.” This Lamb, of course, is Jesus Christ. He is the new Passover Lamb who was sacrificed so that we could be set from sin and become saints, one day joining in this eternal worship of the Lord. Do you desire to become a saint more than anything else? Sanctity is possible for all of us because of Jesus. Let us all, therefore, seek to grow in holiness and set our eyes on the goal of heaven.
Commentary: In this post-resurrection encounter with Jesus, we find many of the Apostles doing what they had done before they started following Jesus. They went back to their trade as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. The encounter here parallels the initial calling of Peter and his fishing partners James and John. At that initial call, after a night of catching nothing, Jesus had instructed Peter to go out again and drop his nets where Jesus directed him. As a result, they caught more fish than they could handle. Here, also, Jesus instructs them to cast their nets in a certain place and the result is a catch beyond what they could manage. With that, the disciples recognize Jesus. Peter’s excitement could not be contained and so he jumps out of the boat and swims to the shore. The mention of a “charcoal fire” is important here because it was at a “charcoal fire” that Peter had denied the Lord three times at the trial of Jesus, mere weeks before this encounter. Jesus’ three questions to Peter parallel his three denials and are, therefore, a reinstating of Peter. The Apostle Peter would go on to put his love for the Lord into action as the leader of the Church, suffering for the sake of Christ (as we saw in the first reading), and even being crucified (as is alluded to here).