THE PROMISE OF THE PARACLETE

HOMILY FOR THE 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

As our celebration of the Easter season draws to an end, the liturgy of this Sunday reminds us of the enduring presence of Jesus who gives us the Holy Spirit to teach us everything we need to know, to remind us of all that Jesus taught and to bring us peace. The same Holy Spirit assisted the early Christian community to make decisions as regards the membership of the Gentiles in the Church (the First Reading). The same Holy Spirit reveals to John the hidden mysteries of the kingdom in the Second Reading. The Holy Spirit remains still with us today. He is the Paraclete the Father and the Son gave to us. One could imagine the sorrows that came with the crucifixion; and afterwards followed the joy of the resurrection. And now, the disciples would face another sorrowful challenge -the departure of the risen Christ. And so, noticing their confusion and sense of meaninglessness, Jesus offers his disciples  two basic gifts as if they were the will of a departing man: Peace and The Promise of the Holy Spirit. This peace would remain with them and would be sustained by the Holy Spirit who would be with them as their Paraclete.

The word Paraclete comes from the two Greek words παρα (preposition which can mean by, beside, in) and κλήτος (the called/invited/summoned). The conjunction of both words as παρακλήτος renders the meaning as ‘one called (invited, summoned) in’, most probably for support. We may want to imagine a situation where someone is convicted of a crime in a customary court, but then is unable to afford the assistance of a lawyer. On reaching the court, the plaintiff with his lawyer presents his case against the defendant who has no lawyer to defend him; no one iss there to speak for him. Suddenly, an observer in the court who happens to be a lawyer of great repute rises to the defendant’s rescue with no charge. In this case, the defendant has got an unmerited help that costs him nothing; as he cannot even afford the services of such a great lawyer. The defendant now has a lawyer to himself. In such a situation, the judge is then pleased to permit the volunteer lawyer whom he now “calls in” to speak for the defendant.

For the Greeks, that act of calling the lawyer in to speak for another would make him a παρακλήτος. That lawyer is a paraclete. He supported the accused/defendant. In this sense can we now understand the sense the evangelists would want to make when they used this term to explain the service of the Holy Spirit towards Jesus, as He was called in to support the disciples. And in this sense too can we understand the support the Holy Spirit gives to the Church. Worthy to mention too is the fact that the support the παρακλήτος renders can take the forms of advice and advocacy, counselling and defence, consolation and exhortation, and of guidance and teaching. This explains why various Bible versions favour varied terms -Comforter, Intercessor, Helper, Advocate and Counsellor- as translations of this Greek word, παρακλήτος as some have preferred to retain Paraclete which is, as it were, a direct transliteration. The English Missal would prefer ‘Advocate’. These terms, irrespective of their slight differences portray the same idea.

In the Gospel (John 14:23-29), Jesus identifies the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete: but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all I have taught you (v.26). The Holy Spirit, then in the understanding of the evangelist was Jesus’ Paraclete. The Holy Spirit would continue to inspire the spreading of the Gospel. He will help people understand the correct meaning of the message of Christ in the midst of changing conditions and circumstances, he will ensure that the Church preaches the same truth she heard from their Master. It is the Father who would ‘call in’ the Holy Spirit to support and maintain the already completed salvific work of Jesus. This term therefore spells out the identity and the activity of the Holy Spirit whose work, according to the passage would be two-fold: Towards the Disciples (i.e, the Church) -he will teach you all things and bring to your rememberance; and Towards Jesus (i.e, the salvific mission) -all that I have taught you.

The Holy Spirit is ‘called in’ by God the Father in the name of Jesus to make the followers of Jesus remember all that Jesus said to them. To Jesus, the Spirit would accomplish in the disciples the work he started in them. The Paraclete is in the continuing life of the apostolic faith (and the Church) what Jesus is in its foundation. Hence, the Paraclete shares his functions with Jesus, not outside of Him. The Paraclete’s teaching revolves around the deeds and teachings of Jesus Christ. He does not bring in any teaching independent of the revelation in Jesus. Therefore, the work of the Holy Spirit is still strongly Christological. The Spirit becomes the power of growth of the Church (cf. Eph. 3:16). He is the vital principle of the body of the Church (cf. Eph. 4:4). He is the agent of holiness, of peace, of love, and of inspiration. Indeed, it was the Holy Spirit that inspired the biblical writers to write about Christ; for all scripture is inspired/God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16).

The Holy Spirit is ‘called in’ by Jesus to teach us (guiding us to the fullness of the truth), to counsel us (advocating and defending us against every danger) and to comfort us (consoling us in all our sufferings).

1. As a Teacher

The Holy Spirit is ‘called in’ by Jesus to teach us about the Truth (Christ) and to lead us into its fullness. He is not a Spirit of mediocrity, but a Spirit of plenitude. He supports us in our mission which lies in proclaiming Christ. He gives us all the necessary knowledge we need about Christ and His kingdom. Christ had told us that the Holy Spirit has the function to teach us what we shall say (cf. Luke 12:12). The Holy Spirit ignites in us a special kind of knowledge and proclamation incomprehensible to any man (cf. Elizabeth in Luke 1:41 and Zechariah in Luke 1:67). He is the spirit of wisdom (cf. Acts 6:3 in the choice of the deacons). It was this same Spirit that taught Peter to see all peoples as clean and worthy of the gospel (Acts 10ff). The Spirit searches and reveals to us the deep things of God (1 Cor 2:10). It is this same Spirit in the Second Reading that led John to the heavenly throne and revealed to him the hidden knowledge about God (cf. Rev. 21:10-14. 22-23). The Spirit teaches us to teach. He teaches us to prophesy (cf. Ezek. 2:2, 3:12). The prophet/teacher is a man of the spirit (Hosea 9:7).

2. As a Counsellor/Advocate

The Holy Spirit is ‘called in’ by Jesus to counsel us. The Holy Spirit is there to support by speaking on our behalf, and in our favour. A Counsellor does two functions: He advices/guides, and he defends. In the legal context, the lawyer counsels and advices the accused on what to do and say, and thereupon defends him/her in front of all. The first function is one of guidance. In the first reading, we meet how the Holy Spirit led/directs the apostles to take appropriate decisions concerning the admission of Gentiles into the Church of Jesus Christ. They said :it has pleased the Holy Spirit and us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things...(Acts 15:28). This means that the Holy Spirit has the the pride of place in their decision. This guidance extends through the whole of the Acts of the Apostles. The Spirit empowers the apostles to feats of courage and eloquence. He is a Spirit of encouragement (Acts 9:31). He led the Church to making important decisions (Acts 13:2; 20:28). Another function of the Holy Spirit is advocacy. Advocacy implies guidance and defence. He defends us against every evil. He liberated Peter from prison (Acts 12ff), and Paul and Silas too (Acts 16ff). He supports us and leads us towards goodness.

3. As a Comforter/Consoler

The Holy Spirit is ‘called in’ by Jesus to comfort us in our tribulations. He consoles us when we are suffering for the sake of Christ and His Church. He strengthens us (Acts 9:31) in our weakness. He is the Spirit of faith (cf. 2 Col. 4:13). The Spirit consoles us and tells us the manner to conquer all afflictions which is love. Actually, it is He who awakens love in the Christian (Col. 1:8). He is the principle of the mutual love of Christians (cf. Gal 5:13-36, Rom 15:30). The Comforter enables us to pray (Rom 8:15, Gal 4:6). The Spirit makes us to cry Abba father and he rests on all who suffer for Christ (1 Pet 4:14).

As Christians then, we are called to perform the function of the Paraclete, on the one side towards Jesus and on the other side, towards humanity. How do we support the work of Jesus? Or do we prefer to support our selfish interests in the guise of our service to Jesus? Is it not true to state that the various divisions in Christianity might be as a result of the tendency to support our interest rather than the Jesus interest? We need too to extend our service as παρακλήτος (paracletes) to our fellow human beings. We must console them in times of troubles; we need to assist to create more hopes and sense to life in general, and to offer to the depressed a fresh understanding of life filled with great hopes. As counsellors, our service should include welcoming sinners and treating the wounds caused by sin. Most importantly, Christ remains the focus of our advocacy. Our interest is to bring Christ to the people that we serve; and we are assured of the Holy Spirit to lead us through proper service of God and our neighbour. Happy New week. God bless you.

THE DIVINE NOVELTY

HOMILY FOR THE 5^TH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

We enjoy novelties. We strive to be ever anew. Novelty has charms that our minds can hardly withstand (cf. William Makepeace T.). For those in the world of learning, students and teachers love to discover and to be taught new things. For those in politics, governments strive to introduce some novelties so as to be reckoned as successful. For those in the world of fashion and modelling, artists seek to appear in something new and appealing; and by so doing, introduce new ways of appearance, and are recognized in the fashion world. For the business world, new products mean a lot to them, as re-branding old ones to appear new is an important strategy. For the technocrats, the desire to discover and invent new machines and equipments never dies. For the priests and preachers, of course, the struggle to spread and approach the one good news of salvation in different directions and with a multiplicity of new approaches so as to speak to the modern world in a language she understands remains unending. We cannot totally avoid the strive for newness and new meanings. Novelties help to spice up our lives; without novelties, life becomes boring, stagnant and lifeless. I stumbled at a quote somewhere attributed to Roland Barthes that “ the new is not a fashion, it is a value.” Oh! The value of newness. This picture of the struggle, the value and the love for novelties can indeed help us now to understand the novelties and innovations God injected into human history. And should we not be right to say that God’s passion for novelty did indeed infect human beings?

THE NEW MISSION

However, we must know that the birth of the new constitutes a crisis. In the first reading (Acts 14:21-27), Paul and Barnabas, who had come back from their missionary journey narrated their mission experiences to the other disciples. The culmination of these experiences hinges on the new thing that God did by opening up the door of faith to the Gentiles. In the Church at Antioch where many disciples lived as a community, Paul and Barnabas were set apart by the Holy Spirit to go for mission (Acts. 13:2b). The new mission would not go without some struggles. This plan to go to the Gentile world would be something totally new; even though that there had been some missionary presence done in some Gentile towns by some disciples - Peter in Caesarea in Acts 10, and Philip in Antioch in Act 13. Paul and Barnabas encountered series of oppositions and persecutions as they moved from town to town, from Seleucia to Cyprus (where they encountered the opposition of the magician), from Cyprus to Antioch and Iconium (where they still encountered persecution), from Iconium to Lystra and Derbe (where Paul was almost lynched).

This was the crisis associated with their mission experiences. This is why, Paul in the First Reading which has the story of their return to Antioch, encouraged the faithful in Antioch by the saying: it is through persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God. That new way and new move met some oppositions. Could this not be a lesson to us that no matter the opposition and persecution we might face as a result of the Christ-like novelties we bring into life, that we should not give up? And psychologically too, should this not tell us that oppositions must come at every new thing or level we find ourselves; such that when they come, they are not meant to make us give up?

THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH

The novelty of God continued to unfold before us as we move into the Second Reading (Rev. 21:1-5a). The revelation of the new heaven and the new earth, coupled with the marvellous new things that God would effect in such a new world and state ended with that most consoling and gracious statement: behold, I make all things new. Newness presupposes the old. But imagine when the old was shameful, unpalatable, distressing, discomforting, and darkened by grief and strife; and then from somewhere came that amazing new thing that we are proud of, very tasteful, uplifting, comforting, and lightened by love and forgiveness. Imagine how appreciative people would become, how life is enlivened, youthfulness animated, and hopes restored. This is what the new heaven and the new earth does. This is what the Church does. The Church is called in as the new earth that passes us over to the new heaven. God makes all things new.  

Sometimes, past experiences and former impressions we might have made on others might be regrettable, that we desire to be seen and recognized in a new way and with a better impression. Sometimes, weariness can overwhelm us in our jobs and vocation that we desire new jobs and careers. Sometimes, stress and boredom can lead us to desire to change material things around us such as cars, houses, home furnitures, utensils, and even our clothing just in search of something new that would have a new meaning to offer; and I do not mean to say that getting new cars, new houses, new clothes and new furnitures are signs of weariness and stress. Surely, as human beings we might sometimes desire something new. Have we asked ourselves: why this madness about newness anyway? The simple answer is this: God has predisposed us to hunger for this new heaven and new earth. He makes us to desire for newness that we might easily desire the new thing he effects in us. Our daily lives are filled with numerous opportunities to grab this new thing that the Lord has given us. The ball is in our courts.

THE NEW COMMANDMENT

In the Gospel (John 13:31-33a, 34-35), Jesus tells us the constituent of the new heaven and new earth. He captures our minds with yet another marvellous novelty - the new commandment: love one another. This is the summary of all the commandments. With this new commandment, the disciples of Christ wear a new identity of love. This becomes the new identity of the Christian in the new light of Easter. Can the world really be habitable if there is no love amongst us? As those who have been purified through obedience, love one another deeply from the heart, Peter said (cf. 1 Pet.1:22). No one has ever seen God, but as long as we love one another God will live in us and his glory will be complete in us (1 John 4:12). How can we love deeply, if not to start simple? Great things and positions may indicate skill and capacity, but small services suggest the depth of one’s consecration and love.

A Scottish minister once told a story of a certain dream he had. In this dream, he died, and was immediately brought before St. Peter’s gates. He was then refused entrance into heaven, until he could present his credentials. Proudly, the minister articulated the number of sermons he preached, but Peter said: no one heard them in heaven. He said a lot about his ministry and how popular he was, but Peter repeated: heaven does not know about it. The discouraged minister was then about to leave when Peter said: wait a minute, are you the man who once fed the sparrows? Yes, the minister replied, but what does that have to do with it? Come in, said Peter, the master of the Sparrows wants to thank you. We need not overlook those simple ways to love. Our today’s assignment then as Christians is to discover a new but simple way to love one another. Remember, novelty charms the mind. Try then to charm another person through your novelty of love this week. Happy new week. God bless you.

MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE

HOMILY FOR THE 4^TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR C

(dedicated to Chidubem, my youngest Nephew, born tonight, 11/05/2019)

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

It was from the previous Sunday that we were gradually being introduced to the topic that would form the major theme of this Sunday - the three-fold responsibility given to Peter by Jesus to feed his flock. This becomes a liturgical precedence to the Good Shepherd Sunday. That story line of the previous Sunday can then be seen as a little opening to the greater view of the Good Shepherd Sunday. The Good Shepherd cannot leave his sheep orphaned. He provides them leadership. Peter was given the role of the chief care taker of the flock to feed, to tend and to care for them. Peter would then have to labour to invite more people to this role. And so, today we join the universal Church to pray for vocations to the priesthood and the religious life that more united voices would gather to join their voices with the eternal Good Shepherd whose sheep listen to His voice. We encourage all to pray for vocations that more persons would listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd as He calls out to all. My Sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. The Gospel (John 10:27-30) began with these lovely words. 

There is this story of a young priest who wanted to do the children liturgy himself on a Good Shepherd Sunday. He had told the catechist that he would be able to do the story time and would work well with the kids. When the time came, he rushed in with his full vestments to speak to the children. He said the subject was ‘Psalm 23’. He then told the children about sheep, that they weren't smart and needed lots of guidance, and that a shepherd's job was to stay close to the sheep, protect them from wild animals and keep them from wandering off and doing dumb things that would get them hurt or killed. He pointed to the little children in the room and said that they were the sheep and needed lots of guidance. Then the young priest put his hands out to the side, palms up in a dramatic gesture, and with raised eyebrows said to the children, ‘If you are the sheep then, who is the shepherd?’ He was pretty obviously indicating himself. A silence of a few seconds followed. Then a kid said, ‘Jesus, Jesus is the shepherd.’ The young priest, obviously caught by surprise, said to the boy, ‘Well, then, who am I?’ The little boy frowned thoughtfully and then said with a shrug, ‘I guess you must be a sheep dog.’ One obvious sound that we must recognize today is that sound that tells us that Only Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

One of the ways of knowing a good shepherd in the ancient society was the unfailing response of the sheep to the calls or whistles that shepherds use. Even when several flocks were mingled overnight, there would be no problem sorting out the flocks. The shepherd would make his peculiar call and once a leader sheep begins to move, the other sheep would follow. With his peculiar call a Good shepherd should be able to  induce his flock; only his flock to follow him. Someone had talked about her experience from a local shepherding competition where the shepherds must definitely lead their sheep rather then driving the sheep from behind. At this competition, one of the challenges was for two shepherds to run with their flocks following after each of them, arranged in such a way so that the two flocks crossed paths. At the end, the winner was declared based on the one whose sheep all followed without joining the other flock. That one is regarded as the winner shepherd. This is what Jesus is: the winner shepherd whose sheep follow at the sound of his voice.

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hands. In these statements are the significant rhythm of the relationship between the Good Shepherd and the sheep. The relationship moves from mutual recognition into a reciprocal activity down to an authoritative assurance. The mutual recognition (The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice) concerns the importance of listening and knowledge of the shepherd by the flock. The ability to listen and understand the voice of the shepherd implies a great deal of relationship that exists between the shepherd and his flock. When we are able to listen to Jesus speak to us in the Scriptures and do his will in right conscience, then we are proving that mutuality which exists between us and Him. He is our Shepherd. Listening then would breed a sort of response to the one who calls us; for how can we obey if we do not listen? Thus, having listened well, obedience would follow. In this is the reciprocal action (I know them and they follow me). Discipleship comes then as the fruit of listening.

But inside this fruit of discipleship is the seed of protection (I give them eternal life, and they will never perish). As the sheep of his flock Shepherd, the Shepherd comforts us with eternal life. The Lord will strengthen us, and will protect us from the evil one (2 Thes. 3:3). We are assured of protection. Therefore, as the flock of Christ, we need to harken to the voice of God who calls on us to work for him. He still calls us in numerous ways today amidst the many voices that resounds in our society. Thus, one must usually ask oneself: whose voice do I follow? Whose standards do I emulate? These questions are very important, especially now that many loud voices shout at us today from many sources: peer pressure, pop culture, advertisements, secularism, politics, liberalism, etc. Our way then as disciples of Christ is to follow the voice of our Good Shepherd. The life of a true follower is directed by listening to the voice of the God who calls. We then need to reflect on our daily occupations to discern how the Lord calls on us to represent him there. Vocations Sunday is then an opportunity for us to reflect on our individual experiences of the Lord’s call, and to encourage others to be open to the call of God. Happy New Week; God bless you.

IT IS THE LORD

HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The Gospel (John 21:1-19) is the story of the third appearance of Jesus to his disciples. In order to appreciate better the significance of this third appearance, we need to refresh our minds of the first and second appearances. John started his account of the resurrection of Jesus by telling the story of the empty tomb, where Peter and John who had ran to the tomb on account of the story of Mary Magdalene discovered that it was really empty. After this discovery, and as the men went home, John tells us that Mary stood outside and then had to peep inside the tomb. She saw two angels who asked her why she was weeping, but then on turning round, she saw a man who she would later discover to be Jesus. Off she went to the disciples with the announcement: I have seen the Lord. This is the first appearance. The second is the story of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples in a closed room (the Gospel of the previous Sunday), where Thomas who doubted later on believed with the great profession of faith: my Lord and my God. And now, we encounter the third story of the apparitions, where Jesus appeared to seven disciples in the open place, at the sea of Tiberias, and where the disciples whom Jesus loved (John) discovered it was Jesus and then told Peter: It is the Lord. This means that these stories of the appearances all came with a sort of profession of the messiahship of Jesus which was the intention John had for the readers; that anyone who read the Gospel would discover Jesus as the Lord. As the first appearance was to the woman, the second was to the disciples in a closed room, and the third was to some disciples in an open place. All these appearances started with a sort of irrecognition and disbelief. The woman did not recognize it was the Lord -Thomas did not believe it was the Lord -the disciples did not recognize it was Jesus. And now, the scene has changed from the phobia in the closed room in Jerusalem to the occupation in the open air at the sea of Tiberias.

The Gospel of John in its entirety has been known as the gospel of signs and symbols, with great theological and ecclesiological relevance. And now, we can start imagining the meanings underneath the numerous signs, numbers and symbols in the gospel of today. There are three logical parts of this gospel: the miraculous catch of fish, the meal on the shore and the appointment of Peter as the head. The details of these parts abound with symbolic meanings for the Church today.

First Part: The number of the disciples that went fishing were seven in number which makes for a full number who had failed to appreciate the spirit and the mission they had received in the second appearance. Peter had lured them into going fishing; into going back to the previous occupation. And the disciples had failed to understand their new vocation based on the spirit and the empowerment they received in the closed room. Of course, they laboured in vain, and acting on their own, they caught nothing. They left the great commission their master had given them, and had to face now weariness and emptiness as a result of the exhaustion from a job that yielded nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus appeared on the shore and even though they did not recognize him, showed them the right place to cast their nets: cast the net to the right side of the boat and you will catch something. With the execution of this direction, they hauled in a great number of fish. The empty net became filled up. The nothingness of their occupation turned into abundance. The Lord’s presence is a great insurance for abundance.

The great number of fish caught was 153, and even though they were so many, the net was not torn. There have been many interpretations of this number, but most likely, it might have been a reference to the number of species of fish then classified. This would signify the mission of the Church to all nations, to all races, and to all human species. That net that was not torn would mean the sign of unity in a community of diverse cultures and races. Yes, the net could contain all the species, just as the Church should contain and embrace all races. In the face of this miraculous catch, John’s eye was opened to recognize Jesus. It is the Lord, he said. As Peter heard this, he put on some clothes and jumped into the lake. Peter had repeated the reaction of Adam and Eve when God came to them in Gen. 3:8. He had now realized his nakedness and sinfulness and having clothed himself would rise from the lake to be forgiven in the Eucharistic meal and then to face his divine election as the shepherd of all.

Second Part: Jesus invites his disciples to meal. Come and have breakfast, he said. Jesus had noticed that they had laboured heavily through the night, and had prepared a meal of bread and fish cooking on the fire for them (grace). They saw this when they came ashore, and Jesus still told them to bring some of the fish they had caught (human effort). The mission of the Church would be a combination of divine grace and human effort. He prepares a banquet for us, but it does not make us not to contribute when partaking of the meal. He invites us in the Eucharistic meal, as we make an offering as partakers of that communion. Jesus took the bread and gave it to them is a clear sign of the Eucharistic meal. He did same with the fish. Fish would become a secret but great sign for the persecuted Christians. The word for Fish in Greek was ICHTHYS which was made up of the first letters in Greek for Iesous Christos, Theou Yios, Soter (Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Saviour). Thus, the presence of fish in this story remains still a profession of Jesus as the Lord.

Third Part: Jesus appoints Peter as the shepherd of the lambs. Peter’s profile in the story corresponds to his pre-eminence in the Christian mission and Church. He was the one who entered the boat as the captain and pulled the net to the shore where Christ stood. He would be ready to pull the Church towards Christ by testifying to the risen Lord, abandon his will to the will of the master. However, the charcoal fire on the shore connects the story to the denial of Peter, which happened when he had gone to another charcoal fire to warm himself (cf. John 18:25). Three times, Peter denied Jesus. And now, in the daybreak of Easter, he would undo those denials in the healing effect of his three affirmations of his unique love for Jesus. These three affirmations would follow three special pastoral responsibility: feed my lambs, tend my sheep, and feed my lambs. Peter’s hurt about the repetition of the three questions of Jesus regarding his love for him leaves with Peter and us today the hurt Peter caused himself for his three-times denial of Jesus and the hurt we cause ourselves when we deny Jesus today. After indicating to Peter the suffering that would come with the love he professed, Jesus at the end told him: follow me. Peter would now become the perfect follower who would go in God’s name by fighting no longer with the material sword but with the sword of the spirit (love). He would become a formidable leader who would lead by allowing himself to be led by another and willing to die for his faith in Jesus as the Lord. An instance of this is seen in the First Reading (Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41) where Peter together with other disciples spoke without fear of any provocation to the Sanhedrin about the Lordship of Christ.

Have we not now discovered that this whole story is about the ever-presence of the risen Lord in the ministry and mission of the Church, in the Eucharistic meal and in the primacy of Peter as the head of the Church? It is indeed the Lord. May be, we need to tell ourselves one last and comprehensive message of this Sunday: when we have fallen back into the old ways, and have laboured through the darkness of the night, and the nets come in empty, then we need to peer through the mists with the courage that comes from the love of God. We must see the one who stands on the shore; the one who is interested in letting us experience abundance and rest; the one who would invite us for a meal; the one who would tell us to bring what we have; the one who would demand from us to love him as he has loved us by following him. That one is Jesus Christ, the son of God our Saviour. Worthy indeed is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honour and glory and blessing (cf. Second Reading Rev. 5:11-14). Yes, It is the Lord!!! Do have a lovely week ahead. God bless you.