3rd Sunday of Easter C - Homily 1

Homily 1 - 2007

Easter is about resurrection. We all believe in resurrection: it is the central dogma of our faith. And it is partly the reason why we are here today. But what does it mean – resurrection? What does raise from the dead mean? For example, does Jesus’ being raised mean that he is now closer to or more distant from the world?

We need to be careful with words. We want to get our words right. We may pride ourselves that our faith is orthodox. And we think we understand. But sometimes our concern for the right words can get in the way of believing: of wondering, or surrendering to what we cannot ultimately understand, of getting caught up and drawn into mystery.

The Gospel writers use a variety of stories – all different – in their effort to tell us, in narrative form, what it all might mean. They want to say that something much more has happened than that he is no longer dead and that the tomb is empty. They want to say that the Father has raised him to a totally new kind of life, indeed, to a quite new relationship with us.

John’s story in today’s Gospel is a case in point. He says so many things if we care to go through the words and through the details of the story; and let the message resonate with our own experience and our own questions.

I’ll share a few of the things that ring true to me: The risen Jesus was in touch with them, interested in them. He was there.  But they didn’t recognise him there. This was ordinary stuff: they were just fishing - what they had always done ‘night in night out’ for years.

Who recognised him first? Not their leader, Peter, or the others, but the disciple Jesus loved – the one whose friendship with Jesus was so obvious that that was the way people identified him.

That story says two things to me: Jesus is there in my life, with all its thousands of insignificant details – and not only that, but he is in touch with me; he is interested in me.

And the other thing it says is that what makes me aware of Jesus’ presence and his interest will be not my orthodoxy (though I try hard on that), nor my role (my priesthood, or whatever) but the depth of our friendship and my openness to loving.

Another thing that rings true to me is the way that Jesus related to Peter (and also to the others). Peter had denied him. The others had deserted him. But there is not a word of judgment, not even a comment.

That says to me that Jesus is not interested in judging me just in loving me, and without conditions. Jesus is not interested in what has been, but in what can be. The past is past and cannot be relived. Jesus forgives what has been and doesn’t make a big deal about it - he takes it for granted. His interest is in what can be, in what he can empower me to become, in helping and encouraging me to let go of my guilts and especially of my need to control. That is what he was up to in that long exchange with Peter.

But to believe in his loving me that much and in that way, I think I need to have explored our friendship – like the beloved disciple.

Some of you are toying with the idea of having a go at the Retreat in Daily Life. I would like to heartily encourage you. It can be a great way to deepen your capacity to recognise Jesus there in your life; to get beyond the words and to begin the long journey from the head to the heart; and to explore and to make your own Jesus’ unique love of you.