Our Call

For flesh and blood[d] has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

13 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi[a] he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist,[b] others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 [c]Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood[d] has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 18 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,[e] and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.[f] Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”-Matthew16:13-19

Today is the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. They have sacrificed much for the propagation of the Christian faith. As Jesus called these two men for the ministry, Jesus calls us too to continue the ministry in anyway we can - as priests, religious men and women, and as lay members. What can we do? What does God want us to do for others? How can we spread and share Christ?

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Own discipleship

What concern is it of yours?

20 Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?[a] What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” 23 [b]So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? [What concern is it of yours?]”24 It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them,[c] and we know that his testimony is true. 25 There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.-John21:20-25

What concern is it of yours? Anybody who hears this line would definitely be taken aback or cringe. But Jesus is teaching Peter that the latter's focus should be primarily in his own discipleship. Like Peter, Jesus is teaching us, too, to focus primarily in our own discipleship or our own soul. We do not remove the speck in another's eye, for we must first remove the log in ours to see better.

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The three-fold question

Jesus and Peter.

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,[a] “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”[b] He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he 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. 18 [c]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.” 19 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.”-John21:15-19

Yes, it is very noticeable that Jesus addressed Peter by his previous name - Simon, son of John, and not as Cephas. As Simon, son of John, Peter is a man just like the rest, with both strengths and weaknesses. As Cephas or Rock, Peter is a fisher of men, a disciple, a chosen servant of God and successor of Jesus. To whom does Peter truly belong? To the world? Or to Jesus? For me, this is not just a simple Q&A portion. Here, Jesus wants to know if this 'weak' man do really want to be a fisher of men. Here, Jesus wants to know if Peter truly repented. Here, Jesus gives Peter the chance to undo what the latter did in the past (deserting and denying the Messiah) by confirming his love for Jesus at that moment until the end. Here, Jesus wants to know if Peter is willing to leave the 'man' inside of him to be the true fisher of men, shepherd of the flock and successor of Jesus. Well, I do believe Peter answered according to the will of God for him. So too, like him, we are sometimes asked by God. Sometimes we need to confirm and truly embrace with zeal the will of God for us.

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An Impasse

Jesus showed Himself again.

1 [a]After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. 2 Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons,[b] and two others of his disciples. 3 [c]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. 4 When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” 6 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. 7 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. 8 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. 9 [d]When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three[e] large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him,[f] “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. 14 [g]This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.-John21:1-14

'I am going fishing' can also be interpreted as going back to the old life. When Jesus did His active ministry, He and His disciples have something to do all the time - teach, preach, heal, drive out demons, etc. But things changed when Jesus died and resurrected. It seems He was not around all the time. 'What must we do?' or 'What will happen now?' is possibly some questions that each disciple asked. The feeling is similar to a flock of sheep losing their shepherd. Perhaps, it is natural to go back to familiar ways. But God has a different plan. Jesus steps into the void and leads the way. At a time of not knowing what to do, Jesus comes and guides. Above all, Jesus remained true to His promise when He called Peter and the other disciples. Their vocation and their role do not stop, rather, it continues and reaches another level. As Jesus said in John14:18, 'I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.'

There are times that we face an impasse, a void; seemingly, life stopped and there is nowhere to go. But, it is in this very moments that Jesus is all the more knocking in our hearts. He is calling us. Jesus is reaching out to us and wanting to guide us. All we have to do is simply to take His hand.

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What did he see?

What did he see?

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.' Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.-John20:1a,2-8

It made me wonder, what did he see? what did he believe? Did he believe that "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him?" Whatever the answer may be, it is all now moot. But what do we see? And what do we believe? As the Christmas season continues, along with the upcoming new year, what is Jesus' invitation for us to see in our lives? Nowadays, it is difficult to believe if there is no concrete evidence supporting it. Not only in science, but almost everywhere. Is it enough of a reason to discredit a person just because change is slow? Is it difficult to believe that our world can be better despite its chaos?

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