Next Sunday's Gospel: Fishing for Unity

NEXT SUNDAY’S GOSPEL: JOHN 21: 1-19
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER    USCCB LINK TO ALL THREE READINGS
 
At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberius.
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.”
 
Before plunging into Sunday’s Gospel, it is worth noting that the first and second readings through much of the Easter Season follow a thoughtful sequence. Easter is the only season in which Sunday’s first readings are not taken from the Hebrew Scriptures. Rather, the selections from the Acts of the Apostles from St. Luke trace the history of the early Church’s great apostles in the time immediately after Pentecost, as they go about proclaiming that Christ is risen and sits in glory at the Father’s right hand. The second readings are drawn from the Book of Revelation: the mystical visions of a man named John who put his experiences to paper to encourage a Church under Roman persecution with the promise that God will deliver it in a resounding lasting victory. (Revelation’s apocalyptic literary style has led many to misinterpret the book; at some point down the road I will provide an introductory commentary on the blog.)
 
Our Gospel reading at hand is intriguing for a number of reasons, not least of which is the strong possibility that Chapter 21 was a late addition to the body of the text. Last Sunday’s Gospel, from John 20, concluded with a literary “sign-off” after Thomas’s act of faith:
 
 30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
 
This is a very fitting ending in every sense for the Gospel of John, and thus it is puzzling to find an additional chapter (next Sunday’s reading) which in its place and content does not seem to fit. For starters, the author identifies five disciples by name and two other indirectly, and notes that Thomas was known as the twin, a fact already stated in the previous chapter. It is peculiar, to say the least, that after everything that transpired between Jesus and the disciples in Chapter 20, they would fail to recognize him in Chapter 21. Maybe most surprising is the fact that after receiving the Holy Spirit in Chapter 20, the disciples are back to the fishing nets in Chapter 21 rather than preaching in Jerusalem (as they are described doing in Sunday’s first reading!)
 
The mystery of Chapter 21 is complex, but for our purposes here it is sufficient to say that Chapter 21 was added to the Gospel to resolve remaining difficulties and misunderstandings in the early Church, specifically involving Peter. The Catholic Scholar Father Raymond Brown was a leading advocate among scholars who believe that the early Church may have had some difficulty sorting out questions of leadership, with the majority of Christians recognizing Peter and his successors as enjoying a primacy of authority, while another group of Christians looked to “the disciple Jesus loved,” most likely the Apostle John. Both men were probably dead at the time of this composition, but the author attempted to establish both order and unity in Chapter 21.
 
The miracle of the miraculous catch is very similar to Luke’s account of the same miracle before the Resurrection. Peter takes the lead in both accounts, as here it is his idea to go fishing in the first place, and the others follow. While it is the beloved disciple who recognizes Jesus first, it is Peter who jumps into the water to get to shore first, and Peter who answers Jesus’ request to bring some fish to the meal Jesus was preparing.
 
The post-meal discussion between Jesus and Peter is well known to us, where Jesus thrice asks Simon Peter if he loves him, and then bestows upon him the command to feed his sheep. Thus we have Peter’s rehabilitation and his commissioning as first among equals. Sunday’s Gospel stops here, but if we continued Chapter 21 further, we would find this:
 
20 Peter, turning around, *saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 So Peter seeing him *said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” 23 Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”
 
It is interesting that after this ultimate endorsement from Jesus, Peter would still wonder about “this man,” a term which is hardly one of endearment. Jesus responds with hyperbole—even if this disciple lives until the Second Coming, this does not change Peter’s ministry or his relationship with the Master. Again, scholars suspect that this text is reflective of a strain between Christian communities more than between the two men. Brown’s The Community of the Beloved Disciple (1978) remains an interesting and helpful source on this question.