April 16, 2004 - Easter Friday

There Is No Other Name By Which We Are Saved

Readings:
Acts 4:1-12; Ps 118:1-2 and 4, 22-24, 25-27a; Jn 21:1-14

Introduction

All evangelists underline the disciples' difficulty of recognizing the risen Lord. First they do not realize he is there, he is just like a stranger; then, usually as a consequence of a word or action, it dawns on them that it is the Lord; and those who love him most - today John - usually recognize him first. The risen Lord is quite different in appearance from the Jesus whom they had known before his death and resurrection.

Though their faith in the resurrection was difficult and slow, still it is the heart of the apostolic preaching: the risen Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith and our lives. As with the apostles, he stays with us as when we are toiling.

Opening Prayer

Our God and Father,
through our risen Lord, your Son Jesus Christ,
you have given us a message of hope
and a person to live for.
Free our faith from triviality and routine
and fill us with his Spirit of courage,
that we may learn to live
with the insecurities of the change of renewal
ever-demanded by the gospel
and by the needs of the times.
May our Christian living bear witness
to the name of him by whom we are saved,
Jesus Christ, our risen Lord,

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Acts 4:1-12

After the crippled man had been cured,
while Peter and John were still speaking to the people,
the priests, the captain of the temple guard,
and the Sadducees confronted them,
disturbed that they were teaching the people
and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
They laid hands on Peter and John
and put them in custody until the next day,
since it was already evening.
But many of those who heard the word came to believe
and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes
were assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest,
Caiaphas, John, Alexander,
and all who were of the high-priestly class.
They brought them into their presence and questioned them,
"By what power or by what name have you done this?"
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them,
"Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved."

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:1-2 and 4, 22-24, 25-27a

R (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R Alleluia.
O LORD, grant salvation!
O LORD, grant prosperity!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, and he has given us light.
R The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R Alleluia.

Gospel Reading: Jn 21-1-14

Jesus revealed himself to the disciples by the Lake of Tiberias. He appeared to them in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas who was called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples were together; and Simon Peter said to them, "I'm going fishing." They replied, "We will come with you" and they went out and got into the boat. But they caught nothing that night.

When day had already broken, Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus called them, "Children, have you anything to eat?" They answered, "Nothing." Then he said to them, "Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they had lowered the net, they were not able to pull it in because of the great number of fish.

Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's the Lord!" At these words, "It's the Lord," Simon Peter put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and jumped into the water. The other disciples came in the boat dragging the net full of fish; they were not far from land, about a hundred meters.

When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you've just caught." So Simon Peter climbed into the boat and pulled the net to shore. It was full of big fish - one hundred and fifty-three - but, in spite of this, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast," and not one of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" for they knew it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and he did the same with the fish.

This was the third time that Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after rising from the dead.

Commentary

WHEN we are in doubt we return to what we know: the past. When we don't know where we are going, we turn back. When Jesus was dead his disciples returned to their former way of life: they tried to go back to fishing. But "they caught nothing that night." Even the past could give them no reassurance; they had nowhere to go. That was what made them capable of receiving the Good News, which is for Now. "Now" is like a bomb thrown through our window, and ticking.

Can I be said to "have" the faith at all if I think of it only as an old ideology battling for survival against new? What about that cataclysmic Now that those broken-down disciples had to enter in order to see the Lord? There is a way of appearing very Catholic, and it is to appear very concerned with the past. Can this be right? Our life doesn't often (or ever?) put us in a tight place like those first disciples. Or if it threatens to do so, we have many means of slipping away. Then we can offer one another bland assurances about the faith, but they will convince no-one, not even ourselves. Unless we experience this "dying to oneself", our words will offer nothing but routes of escape into a reassuring past.

General Intercessions

- For the Church, that it may continue proclaiming the good news of the risen Lord and bearing witness to him even if this annoys outsiders or even some of its own members, we pray:

- For our Christian communities, that without fear we may live our faith openly and do what is right and good in the name of Jesus, we pray:

- For all and each of us that we may recognize with faith and love the presence of the Lord in one another, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father
you put good words on our tongue
and you fill our hands with good gifts;
you entrust even your Son to us
and place him in our hands.
Through him, then, and together with him,
let us become to the world
your word and your gift, your sign of hope,
and make us capable of bearing witness
to your love for people.
We ask you this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord God, our Father,
your Son Jesus invited us today
to come and eat the food of himself
which he had prepared for us.
May we too invite people far and near
to share the table of the things we have
and of the best that is in us -
our love and compassion, our encouraging word,
and our presence to one another.
May this be the sign to those around us
that your risen Son lives among us
now and for ever.

Blessing

May we raise up one another and bring one another healing and peace in the name of our risen Lord, Jesus. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

TOP