Today we hear the continuation of the accounts of the Lord’s Resurrection and the early activities of the Apostles in spreading the faith in Jerusalem. We also hear the first steps towards taking the Gospel and spreading the Good News, not just to the Jews, but to all the peoples of the world.
Our first reading today (Acts 4:1‑12) takes place shortly after Pentecost. The Sanhedrin questions St. Peter and St. John about what they have done in healing the paralytic man at the temple gate. The members of the Sanhedrin almost certainly recognize the paralyzed man, as they had to have passed him many times while attending to temple matters. They are surprised and amazed that the two Apostles have done that which is impossible.
They are particularly dumbfounded because they thought that by killing Jesus, they had eliminated this rival to their power, influence, and authority. To give them some credit, they sincerely believed that Jesus was a blasphemer and a false Messiah. They believed that by killing Jesus, his influence also would die, that his followers would melt away, and that Jesus would be forgotten. Little did they know. But now, His Name is still being spoken, His followers continue to preach Jesus’ message, and miracles continue to happen through His Name and power. And the number of His followers is growing!
And they are even more dumbfounded because they know many of the disciples and followers of the Lord are mere ordinary people who are mostly uneducated, except for a few, and St. Peter and St. John, being formerly fishermen from Galilee, are among the uneducated ones. Yet, they are able to speak with such eloquence, such wisdom, such passion, and perform such miracles that the Sanhedrin are stunned by what they had done in the Lord’s Name.
St. Peter and St. John are doing what the Lord called them to do, as they obey His commandment to reach out to the peoples of the nations and proclaim to them all the Good News of His salvation. That is what we hear in our Gospel today (John 21:1‑14) as well, presented on the occasion when the Lord appeared to His disciples in Galilee after his resurrection.
Jesus appears to the disciples just as they return to their ordinary lives, as they return to fishing, following His instructions to go to Galilee where they would meet Him. They go out to fish and catch nothing all night. Then the Lord comes before them on the shore. The man they see, but do not recognize, tells them to cast their nets to the deep water on the other side. Immediately there are so many fish that the boats nearly sink. Only then do they recognize the Lord.
And why did Jesus tell his apostles to go to Galilee? Galilee was not the center of the Jewish world. It was on the edge of the Jewish community. On the other side of the lake were people who raised pigs! Pigs, for God’s sake! Galilee was distant from Jerusalem and Judea, and the people who lived there were dismissed by the Sanhedrin who said that no one worthy of note, let alone the Messiah, could come from there.
Therefore, the disciples being called to Galilee, is symbolic of Jesus sending His disciples to go forth, not just the Jewish people but also to the Gentiles, to all the non-Jewish people, and to spread the truth and salvation in Christ to all of them. The symbolism of the boat and the fish is very powerful, as the boat on which the disciples rode can be seen as a parable of the nascent Church, often represented as a ship or boat, in which there are many fish, each representing the peoples of the various nations.
Galilee is the same place that the Lord first calls the disciples to be fishers of men. It is there that the Lord reiterates that calling and mission. It is there that He told his disciples to reach out into the deep waters, and to cast their nets so that more and more people may come to know the Lord and be saved. This is the same mission that He entrusts to all of us too, as Christians, as parts and members of the Church.
Let us all be courageous in our faith and in carrying out the ministry entrusted to us as parts of God’s living Church. Let us all turn towards God with faith and commit ourselves to Him with renewed zeal. Let us be ever more committed to living our lives with sincere desire to serve Him in our respective communities. Let us reach out to those who are in need, showing them the love of God, that they too may come to believe in Him.
Let’s go fishing!
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!