Friday within the
Octave of Easter
(Acts 4:1-12; John 21:1-14)
In every regular mass this week – actually from Sunday to
Sunday – the gospel provides an account of an appearance of the risen Jesus. Although these accounts bear some marks of
editorial expansion, they assure readers of the resurrection as a fact of
history. The nature of the resurrection
is actually trans-historical which means that it has never been duplicated in
history. But reliable witnesses testify
that Jesus appeared to them in the flesh.
Their stories, especially when considered in total, provide an
explanation of the empty tomb, the circumstantial evidence for the resurrection.
Today’s gospel appearance takes place on the Sea of
Tiberias. It seems strange that Jesus’
disciples would return to their former occupations after being commissioned to
go forth with the Holy Spirit and forgive sins.
Yet many people who have profound religious experiences begin to question
their beliefs and may become almost indifferent to what happened to them. Jesus, true to his promise, does not abandon
his disciples but appears to them again to reissue the mandate to go forth and
preach forgiveness. This is expressed
symbolically as he says, “’Cast your net over the right side…’”
Many people dismiss the gospel accounts of the
resurrection appearances as exaggerated dramatizations of psychological
experiences, literally fish stories. Skeptics
challenge us believers to explain the possibility of the stories’ ever taking
place. We should respond to the
challenge in at least two ways. First,
we need to study the gospel accounts with the help of faithful commentators so
that we may provide some explanation of their reasonableness. Second, and perhaps more importantly, we want
to testify to their veracity by living holy lives.
