Octave of Easter 2006 (F): Acts 4.1-12; John 21.1-14
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
Church of the Incarnation, Serra Club
Hear it!
None of the disciples dare to ask him, “Who are you?” They dare not ask b/c they know and to know from his own mouth the answer to that question would spin their world around, shake the ground harder than the day the temple veil fell in two, and bring to their despairing hearts the Best News of the Good News: their Lord and Savior had not only been raised from the dead! But he walked among them again, three times walked among them and made himself known to them in signs that the disciples would understand: in the breaking of the bread, in the wounds of his passion and execution, and in the sharing of the fishes and loaves.
And why is the Lord appearing to the disciples after his resurrection? Partly to encourage them—to strengthen their hearts for the hard times ahead. Partly to comfort their anxieties about his ignoble death—to ease their worries about the disappointing manner of their Master’s demise. Partly to show the Father’s power over life and death, over the impenetrable barrier between the living and the dead—His power as Creator of All reaches the darkness corners, the deepest wells of the world. But perhaps the most important reason that Jesus is appearing to the disciples is to reinforce his teaching that it is through his name alone, his suffering and death alone, his resurrection from the dead alone that his Father’s human creatures are saved.
None of the disciples dare ask him who he is. They know. To ask is to reveal the very possibility of a doubt. To ask is to express a weakness in trust, some crack in the foundation of the Good News. It is precisely who Jesus is that makes the economy of our redemption and sanctification work. It is precisely who Jesus is that freely offers us the invitation of the Father to live in enduring beatitude with the Blessed Trinity.
He is Jesus Christ, uniquely fully human, fully divine—one person, two natures—Jesus Christ, uniquely the only Son of God, the only Messiah, uniquely, finally the One Who Suffers for us, the One Who Dies for us, the One Who is Raised from the Tomb for us. There is no other name under heaven given to the Father’s human creatures by which we can be saved. No other name. No salvation through anyone else. He is the hobbled block, the crushed gravel, the cracked slate, the stone rejected. He is the cornerstone, the founding rock, the granite slab. He is the constituting Word, He Who Is for us Eternal Life.
No other name. No one else. Jesus Christ alone—uniquely, finally. Not mythic heroes, alien gods, comforting political agendas; not syncretistic religious chaos, not private revelation or self-serving authority; not pagan fantasy or invented theological novelty; not the whim of crowds or executive order; not money, works, talent, individual beauty, charm, intelligence or family name. Jesus Christ alone—uniquely, finally. No other name. No one else.
No one dared to ask “Who are you?” b/c they know who he is. He is the one who catches fish with a word. And brings a bounty ashore w/o tearing the net. He is the one who feeds his disciples breakfast. He is the one who sits with them and eats. He is the one who teaches, preaches, suffers, dies, and rises again for them. He is the one who appears to them three times after they have witnessed his death and then, three days later, find his tomb empty.
He is the one who saves them, saves us. No one else can do this.
No one else did this.
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
Church of the Incarnation, Serra Club
Hear it!
None of the disciples dare to ask him, “Who are you?” They dare not ask b/c they know and to know from his own mouth the answer to that question would spin their world around, shake the ground harder than the day the temple veil fell in two, and bring to their despairing hearts the Best News of the Good News: their Lord and Savior had not only been raised from the dead! But he walked among them again, three times walked among them and made himself known to them in signs that the disciples would understand: in the breaking of the bread, in the wounds of his passion and execution, and in the sharing of the fishes and loaves.
And why is the Lord appearing to the disciples after his resurrection? Partly to encourage them—to strengthen their hearts for the hard times ahead. Partly to comfort their anxieties about his ignoble death—to ease their worries about the disappointing manner of their Master’s demise. Partly to show the Father’s power over life and death, over the impenetrable barrier between the living and the dead—His power as Creator of All reaches the darkness corners, the deepest wells of the world. But perhaps the most important reason that Jesus is appearing to the disciples is to reinforce his teaching that it is through his name alone, his suffering and death alone, his resurrection from the dead alone that his Father’s human creatures are saved.
None of the disciples dare ask him who he is. They know. To ask is to reveal the very possibility of a doubt. To ask is to express a weakness in trust, some crack in the foundation of the Good News. It is precisely who Jesus is that makes the economy of our redemption and sanctification work. It is precisely who Jesus is that freely offers us the invitation of the Father to live in enduring beatitude with the Blessed Trinity.
He is Jesus Christ, uniquely fully human, fully divine—one person, two natures—Jesus Christ, uniquely the only Son of God, the only Messiah, uniquely, finally the One Who Suffers for us, the One Who Dies for us, the One Who is Raised from the Tomb for us. There is no other name under heaven given to the Father’s human creatures by which we can be saved. No other name. No salvation through anyone else. He is the hobbled block, the crushed gravel, the cracked slate, the stone rejected. He is the cornerstone, the founding rock, the granite slab. He is the constituting Word, He Who Is for us Eternal Life.
No other name. No one else. Jesus Christ alone—uniquely, finally. Not mythic heroes, alien gods, comforting political agendas; not syncretistic religious chaos, not private revelation or self-serving authority; not pagan fantasy or invented theological novelty; not the whim of crowds or executive order; not money, works, talent, individual beauty, charm, intelligence or family name. Jesus Christ alone—uniquely, finally. No other name. No one else.
No one dared to ask “Who are you?” b/c they know who he is. He is the one who catches fish with a word. And brings a bounty ashore w/o tearing the net. He is the one who feeds his disciples breakfast. He is the one who sits with them and eats. He is the one who teaches, preaches, suffers, dies, and rises again for them. He is the one who appears to them three times after they have witnessed his death and then, three days later, find his tomb empty.
He is the one who saves them, saves us. No one else can do this.
No one else did this.
No comments:
Post a Comment