BIBLE STUDY #129


THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

April 14, 2013



READING 1

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 5:27-32, 40B-41



When the captain and the court officers had brought the apostles in

and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,

the high priest questioned them,

“We gave you strict orders, did we not,

to stop teaching in that name?

Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching

and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

But Peter and the apostles said in reply,

“We must obey God rather than men.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,

though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.

God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior

to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.

We are witnesses of these things,

as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”



The Sanhedrin ordered the apostles

to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them.

So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,

rejoicing that they had been found worthy

to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.



The Word of the Lord



READING 2

REVELATION 5:11-14



I, John, looked and heard the voices of many angels

who surrounded the throne

and the living creatures and the elders.

They were countless in number, and they cried out in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain

to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,

honor and glory and blessing.”

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth

and under the earth and in the sea,

everything in the universe, cry out:

“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor, glory and might,

forever and ever.”

The four living creatures answered, “Amen,”

and the elders fell down and worshiped.



The Word of the Lord



GOSPEL

JOHN 21:1-19



At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.

He revealed himself in this way.

Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,

Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,

Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”

They said to him, “We also will come with you.”

So they went out and got into the boat,

but that night they caught nothing.

When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;

but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”

They answered him, “No.”

So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat

and you will find something.”

So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in

because of the number of fish.

So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,

he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,

and jumped into the sea.

The other disciples came in the boat,

for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,

dragging the net with the fish.

When they climbed out on shore,

they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”

So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore

full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.

Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”

And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”

because they realized it was the Lord.

Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,

and in like manner the fish.

This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples

after being raised from the dead.



When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

He then said to Simon Peter a second time,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”

Jesus said to him the third time,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time,

“Do you love me?” and he said to him,

“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

Amen, amen, I say to you, 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.”

He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.

And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”



The Gospel of the Lord



Reflection



This chapter is a later add on to the Gospel, and it places more emphasis on the ecclesial or community aspect of Jesus’ presence among the disciples.



This resurrection story begins with Peter and a few of the disciples deciding to go fishing. This could be seen as an attempt to feed themselves, or it could be looked at as these fishermen going back too their older way of life prior to being called by Jesus. Do they really believe? Or are they hedging their bets. As usual, no one really believes until Pentecost.



They didn’t catch any fish, but after dawn, they saw Jesus on the shore and didn’t recognize him (again), because he is the transformed, risen Lord.. They followed Jesus instructions (why, if they didn’t recognize him? I don’t know) about casting their net over the right side of the boat and they caught 153 fish. There doesn’t seem to be a sound reason for this number, but here is a story from my scripture resources:



“Humor: 153 Fish



It is so easy to get caught up in trivial interpretations of scripture and miss the point. Take a look at John 21:11: "Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn." Now, why in heaven's name was there 153 fish? Have you ever wondered about that? No? Well others have.



Cyril of Alexandria in the 5th century said that the 100 represented the fullness of the gentiles, the 50 symbolized the remnant of Israel and the three of course was there for the Trinity.



Augustine’s theory (5th century) was a little more complicated. He said, there are 10 commandments and 7 is the perfect number of grace and that’s 17 right? Now if you add all the numbers from 1 to 17 together, you know 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 all the way up to 17 you’ll get 153. And not only that but if you were to arrange them with 17 fish in the first row, and 16 in the next row, and 15 in the next row, all the way down to a row of 1 you get a perfect triangle which of course symbolizes the Trinity.



Jerome, he also lived in the 5th century, suggested that there were 153 different types of fish in the sea and it was symbolic of the church reaching all the people in the world.



Personally I have my own theory, want to hear it? I think that it’s mentioned because there were 153 fish in the net.



You see we can get so caught up in really trivial stuff and miss the point that we need to be obedient to Christ, today.



Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com, Adapted from the sermon "Live for Today" by Denn Guptill.”



The disciple who loved Jesus (probably John) recognized Jesus and told Peter, who suddenly jumped in the water and went to him. Jesus reveals himself to them, and is an initiative of Jesus calling them to faith. He also shows a special knowledge about fishing, characteristic of him throughout the gospel (1:48, 4:16).



This large catch of fish indicates that they will be bringing a large number of people into the church (a boat has long been a symbol of the church). It indicates an apostolic and universal mission of the church. It is only with Jesus that they can catch anything at all; without him, they caught nothing.



Here is another story from my resources:



Keeping the Wheels Turning



Years ago, preacher friend Stan Bailey sent this story around in his church newsletter. It's a story about a visitor to a heavy-duty grease factory. He says the visitors were ushered into a large room and a tour host introduced them to the company history and the number of employees at work producing the best machine lubricants in the world. They toured the noisy factory, with lots of machinery and wheels whirling, mixing, packaging-incredible activity.



As the tour ended, one of the visitors said, "I didn't see a shipping department." The guide responded, "Well, we don't have a shipping department because it takes all the grease we make to lubricate our equipment and keep the wheels turning."



Brother Stan concluded:



Friends, the Church is the best lubricated grease factory in all of history. What's missing is the shipping department. The church does not exist for itself; it exists to bring others to a commitment to Jesus Christ.



John E. Harnish, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com





The sharing of a meal reminds us of the eucharistic banquet, the bread of life that feeds us on our journey through life. Just as we can’t do without food, we can’t do without the body and blood of Christ, either.



Jesus now turns his attention to Peter. He ‘rehabilitates’ Peter because Peter had denied him 3 times and Jesus asks him 3 times if he loves him. Peter responds ‘yes’ three times, and it is indicative of being forgiven.



Peter is chosen even though he failed Jesus because he knows that Peter’s love for him is earnest, which is the heart of true discipleship. Jesus works through weak and failing disciples.



Peter is commanded three times to ‘feed my sheep.” He is trusting Peter with being the shepherd of the community. He doesn’t replace Jesus, but brings Jesus to those he meets. He is not to be domineering over those in his care, but to show the kind of love and concern that Jesus did in his ministry.



Peter even follows Jesus to suffering and death on a cross, giving everything for the one he loves. Peter is told by Jesus to follow him, and he does in every way.



One more story from my homily resources. This is taken from a sermon titled P.S. I Love You” by Leonard Sweet from www.sermons.com:



Every large city has a store in which there is nothing but lamps — hundreds and sometimes thousands of lamps. Some are antique, some are new. Some are plain, some are ornate. Some of them unplugged. Some of them are plugged in and showcasing their light.



One day a little girl was asked by her mother which lamps she liked best. “I like best the ones where the light shines out.”



There are over 300,000 Christian churches in the US. Some are antique, some are new. Some are plain, some are ornate. Some are not plugged in. And some of the ones plugged in keep their light mainly to themselves.



God likes best the ones where the light shines out.



We are all called by Jesus to follow him, to let our light shine so others can believe. How are we doing with that?





Fr. Phil