Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
Ps 30
Rev 5:11-14
Jn 21:1-19
“But Peter and the apostles said in reply . . . .‘We must obey God rather than men . . . .So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.’”
Is this the same Peter who denied Jesus three times? Is this the same man
whose incomprehension provoked Jesus to say, “Get behind me satan?” Peter, who earlier swore that he did not know Jesus is now proclaiming Jesus risen from the dead, that He is the one of whom David spoke. Fearful of being known
as one of Jesus’ disciples while huddled around a fire, Peter is now preaching what was blasphemy: That Jesus had risen from the dead. That He is the Messiah, He is the One of whom David spoke. These are the same apostles commentators love to slag because they were not clustered around the foot of the cross on Calvary. Now they are willing to face death for the sake of His name.
Lent is a particularly open season on the apostles. The critiques can be amusing;
particularly if one pays attention to the underlying current of narcissism that implies: I never would have denied Jesus. I never would have fled Calvary. I never would have been as much of goofball as Peter, Thomas or . . . .(fill in the blank). Yeah right. And Elvis is still in the building. To paraphrase the late Walt Kelly:
“We have met the Apostles and they is us.” Flawed. Clueless. Imperfect. Timid. In a word: human.
“We have met the Apostles and they is us.” Compassionate. Heroic. Loving.
In a word: human.
We too have turned and fled. We too have denied Jesus. We too have hidden our faith. We too have doubted. We all misunderstand until we receive the Holy Spirit and even then, it is sometimes a struggle to proclaim what we believe
when it flies in the face of modern social pressures that condone and encourage that which is immoral, oftentimes using the language of rights to somehow make it OK.
After Peter and the apostles received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They were no longer fearful, or uncomprehending. They were fundamentally changed. We would do well to recall that transformation before curling the lip and dropping a bit of sarcasm in their direction. The behavior of the apostles in front of the Sanhedrin contrasts with the Gospel narrative that reminds us that immediately after the resurrection they still did not comprehend. They returned to their boats, and back to that which was familiar.
When Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection they did not recognize him.
This particular Gospel reading has potential as the basis for multiple homilies,
or one very long one. One could explore, for example, the meaning and symbolism of the catch of fish that ended with Jesus sharing a meal with His disciples, proving that he had risen bodily.
Much could be said about the mission given to Peter: feed my lambs; tend my sheep, feed my sheep. It requires few mental gymnastics to see that this thrice-repeated question undoes Peter’s denials. The mandate to tend to others and feed them with the Word of God remains in force two millennia later.
And finally there are Jesus' prophetic words to Peter: “When you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted. But when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
What did Peter feel when he heard Jesus describe the kind of death by which he would glorify God? What do we feel when we hear these same words that,
predict the kinds of deaths we will undergo?
Our deaths won’t be through the kind of martyrdom Peter and many of the apostles suffered. For most of us we will die through the slow martyrdom of aging in an American society that refuses to accept aging as a reality,
that denies old age at all costs.
We will undergo the martyrdom of disrespect in a society that insists: "You're not 75 years old, You're 75 years YOUUUUUUUUUUUNG," That insult denies the wisdom, accomplishments, successes, failures, and the very lives of those at whom it is hurled. It tells the target that only the young and energetic, only those who are productive and agile, are to be valued. The speaker also reveals his or her morbid fear of aging and death.
Today, unlike at the turn of the 20th century, death at the end of a long life, death in venerable old age. comes from a collection of chronic illnesses that slow us down and rob us of our independence, sub-acute illnesses that punctuate that slowing and cause further declines, and acute illnesses, such as the strokes, heart attacks, and covid
that bring an end to life.
How will we endure the dependence of aging?
Will we gracefully allow others to help us when we can no longer do for ourselves?
Will we permit them to dress us?
Will we cooperate when they guide us?
Will we be grateful when they drive us because we are no longer safe behind the wheel?
Take some time to meditate on the words of the psalm:
“Hear, O Lord, and have pity on me;
O Lord, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks.”
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Photos from the BC campus taken yesterday (Friday). Glorious Day.
