June 6, 2025
Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Lectionary: 301
Reading I
King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea
on a visit to Festus.
Since they spent several days there,
Festus referred Paul’s case to the king, saying,
“There is a man here left in custody by Felix.
When I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jews
brought charges against him and demanded his condemnation.
I answered them that it was not Roman practice
to hand over an accused person before he has faced his accusers
and had the opportunity to defend himself against their charge.
So when they came together here, I made no delay;
the next day I took my seat on the tribunal
and ordered the man to be brought in.
His accusers stood around him,
but did not charge him with any of the crimes I suspected.
Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion
and about a certain Jesus who had died
but who Paul claimed was alive.
Since I was at a loss how to investigate this controversy,
I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem
and there stand trial on these charges.
And when Paul appealed that he be held in custody
for the Emperor’s decision,
I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”
Responsorial Psalm
R. (19a) The Lord has established
his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord has established his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord has established his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, all you his angels,
you mighty in strength, who do his bidding.
R. The Lord has established his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten
breakfast with them,
he 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.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
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.
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.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060625.cfm
Commentary on Acts
25:13-21
We are now moving rather quickly to the end of Acts.
We have to finish between today and tomorrow, which is the end of the Easter
season. Next week we will return to what is called “Ordinary Time”.
After Paul was rescued from the uproar in the Sanhedrin, a
group of Jews were determined to assassinate Paul and were concocting a plot to
bring it about. However, Paul’s nephew got wind of it and passed the
information to the Romans. So Paul was taken away from Jerusalem and sent
under heavy guard to Governor Felix in Caesarea to await formal charges from
his Jewish accusers.
Both the Jews and Paul presented their case to Felix in the
most flattering terms. Felix was rather sympathetic to Paul and was
apparently aware of Christian beliefs. He kept Paul in custody for a
further two years because he liked discussing religion—until Paul began to tell
him about moral behaviour and the judgement to come. Feeling somewhat
uneasy (about his own behavior!), Felix postponed further meetings
indefinitely. He also hoped for a bribe from Paul to expedite his release
(apparently not expecting Paul to practise what he preached!).
The next governor, Festus, was more favourable to the
Jews. He again allowed them to come up to Caesarea to confront Paul in
court. Knowing what the Jews wanted, Festus asked Paul if he would be
willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried. Paul knew that was tantamount to
a death sentence (indeed the Jews planned to murder him on the way), so he
played his final trump card. As a Roman citizen, he appealed for a Roman
trial. The governor now had no choice. He said:
I ordered him to be held until I could send him to the
emperor.
We now enter today’s reading. We see King Agrippa and
his sister Bernice come to pay a courtesy visit to Festus in Caesarea. It
was customary for rulers to pay a complimentary visit to a new ruler at the
time of his appointment. It was to the advantage of each that they get
along. (We might compare the relationship of Herod Antipas with Pontius Pilate;
see especially Luke 23:6-12.)
Agrippa and Bernice were an interesting couple to say the
least. Agrippa, Bernice and Drusilla were children of King Herod Agrippa
I. Herod Agrippa II was 17 years old at the death of his father in AD 44
(Acts 12:23). Being too young to succeed his father, he was replaced by
Roman procurators. Eight years later, however, a gradual extension of
territorial authority began. Ultimately he ruled over territory north and
northeast of the Sea of Galilee, over several Galilean cities and over some
cities in Perea. At the Jewish revolt, when Jerusalem fell, he was on the
side of the Romans. He died about AD 100—the last of the Herods.
According to the New International Version Bible,
Bernice:
“…when only 13, married her uncle, Herod of Chalcis, and had
two sons. When Herod died, she lived with her brother, Agrippa II.
To silence rumours that she was living in incest with her brother, she married
Polemon, king of Cilicia, but left him soon to return to Agrippa. She
became the mistress of the emperor Vespasian’s son Titus but was later ignored
by him.”
Titus, as emperor, was responsible for the siege and
destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70. The memory of that
event is recorded on the sculptural reliefs of the Arch of Titus still standing
in the Roman Forum.
The governor now took the opportunity for Paul to present
his case to the king, who was a Jew. The governor gives a slightly
distorted account of the proceedings held in his presence with the Jews from
Jerusalem. In reply to the Jews’ demand to have Paul surrendered to them,
Festus said that it was not in accordance with Roman law to hand someone over
before he had a chance to speak in his own defence.
However, when the trial began in Festus’ presence, none of
the charges he expected were brought forward. Instead they were arguing
about matters concerning their own religion and there was talk of a Jesus who
had died, but whom Paul was claiming to be alive. Festus wanted the Jews
to deal with this issue themselves, but because Paul had appealed to Rome, he
had to remain in custody until he could be sent to Caesar. The emperor in
question was Nero, who reigned (if that is the appropriate word) from AD 54-68.
While every stage in this story can be understood as taking
place in response to the various actions of the participants, the incidents can
also be seen as factors which were to bring Paul to the heart of the empire in
Rome. Rome would in time become the centre of Christ’s Kingdom on earth. It is
the fulfilment of the words of Jesus to the Apostles before his ascension:
…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.
Once again, we see the finger of God behind every action of
every person in the story. His finger is in our life stories too.
Can we see that? And where will we find him in today’s experiences?
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Commentary on John
21:15-19
The Gospel reading is from the very end of John’s Gospel.
The whole chapter is divided into three parts. In the first, seven of Jesus’
disciples are out fishing and have caught nothing. Then in the early dawn, as
light breaks, a stranger on the shore tells them where to drop their nets. When
they do so, they make a huge catch of fish and at that point the Beloved
Disciple, the one with the deeper spiritual insight, exclaims:
It is the Lord!
They then bring the catch ashore.
In the second part, after coming ashore, the disciples find
that a fire has been lit and a meal is ready for them, a meal of bread and
fish—a Eucharistic meal. The disciples are somewhat confused. Jesus, on the one
hand, does not look familiar and yet they know it is he.
At the end of the meal, Jesus begins to speak with Peter,
although he addresses him by his own name, Simon:
Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?
It sounds like a simple question, but in fact it makes Peter
very uncomfortable. He has not forgotten the shameful moment during the trial
of Jesus when he swore three times that he had never laid eyes on Jesus. And
this on top of an earlier boast that, even if all the others betrayed Jesus,
Peter never would. He was in effect saying that he loved Jesus more than his
other companions.
But now, in this scene, it is a more humble and remorseful
Peter. After betraying his Master he had wept bitterly, deeply regretting his
cowardice. Earlier on, when they were in the boat and the Beloved Disciple had
cried, “It is the Lord!”, Peter immediately dressed himself. Only the innocent
can go naked (like our First Parents in the garden before their sin), and Peter
was deeply aware of his failings. At the same time, his diving into the water
to get to Jesus first was a sign that, sinner though he may have been, he
deeply loved his Lord.
Now, in answer to Jesus’ painful question, he simply
replies:
Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
And, of course, Jesus did know. The reconciliation then
takes place and Peter is told:
Feed my sheep.
He is fully restored to his role as Peter, as the Rock on
which the community will be built and to which he will be responsible.
But Jesus is not yet finished. Twice more he asks Peter if
he loves his Master and twice more his leadership of the community is
re-affirmed. Peter is all too conscious why he is being asked three times and
it hurts:
Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.
And, of course, it was true.
The second half of the passage, while spoken about Peter,
seems almost a poem about the course of anyone’s life:
Very truly I tell you,
when you were younger
you dressed yourself
and went where you wanted;
but when you are old
you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.
The Gospel writer interprets this poem saying:
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which
Peter would glorify God.
Peter’s witness will cost him his life, but will also lead
the Church forward to growth unimaginable to Jesus’ original disciples.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/e1076g/
Friday, June 6, 2025
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
You have appointed shepherds in
Your Church to speak Your word to us and to build community in Your name. We
pray You today:
May they be shepherds like Your Son who look
for those who have lost the way, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and
make the weak strong. May they all be ministers of Your tender love and
service, as Jesus was, Your Son and our Lord.
Gospel Reading - John 21: 15-19
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples
and eaten breakfast with them, he 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." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." 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. 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."
Reflection
We are in the last days before Pentecost.
During the time of Lent, the selection of the Gospels of the day continues the
ancient tradition of the Church. Between Easter and Pentecost, the Gospel of
John is preferred. And thus, during these last days before Pentecost, the
Gospels of the day narrate the last verses of the Gospel of John. When we
return to Ordinary Time, we will go back to the Gospel of Mark. In the weeks of
Ordinary Time, the Liturgy proceeds to a continuous reading of the Gospel of
Mark (from the 1st to the 9th week of Ordinary Time), of Matthew (from the 10th
to 21st week of Ordinary Time) and of Luke (from the 22nd to the 34th week of
Ordinary Time).
The Gospel readings for today and tomorrow
speak about Jesus’ last encounter with His disciples. It was an encounter of
celebration, marked by tenderness and affection. At the end Jesus calls Peter
and asks him three times, “Do you love Me?” Only after having received three
times the same affirmative response, Jesus entrusts to Peter the mission of
taking care of the sheep. In order to be able to work in the community, Jesus
does not ask many things of us. What He asks of us is to have much love!
•
John 21: 15-17: Love at the center of the
mission. After a whole night of fishing in the lake catching not even one fish,
they go to the shore. The disciples discover that Jesus has prepared bread and
roasted fish for them. When they finish eating, Jesus calls Peter and asks him
three times, “Do you love Me?” Three times, because Peter denied Jesus three times
(Jn 18: 17, 25-27). After the three affirmative responses, Peter also becomes a
“Beloved Disciple” and receives the order to take care of the sheep. Jesus does
not ask Peter if he has studied exegesis, theology, morals, or canon law. He
only asks, “Do you love Me?” Love in the first place. For the communities of
the Beloved Disciple the force which supports and maintains unity is love.
•
John 21: 18-19: The foreshadowing of death.
Jesus tells Peter, “Truly I tell you: when you were young, you put on your own
belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out
your hands, and somebody else will put a belt around you and take you where you
do not want to go!”
Throughout
life, Peter, and we too, gain maturity. The practice of love will take root in
life and people will no longer be the bosses of their own life. Service to the
brothers and sisters out of love will prevail and will lead us. How we dress is
often a reflection or necessity of the work we do. If we choose to accept it, God
can “dress” us in new clothing for a new destination according to His wants,
and send us where we may not want to go. Somebody else will put a belt around
you and take you where you would rather not go. For Peter there is a the
meaning, as the Evangelist comments: “He tells him this to indicate the kind of
death by which Peter would give glory to God.” Then Jesus adds: “Follow Me.”
•
Love in John – Peter, do you love Me? – The
Beloved Disciple. The word love is one of the words which we use most nowadays.
Precisely because of this, it is a word that has been greatly worn out. But the
communities of the Beloved Disciple manifested their identity and their own
intentions by this word. To love, is above all, a profound experience of
relationship among people in which similar sentiments and values prevail a care
and concern for the other over oneself, as well as joy, sadness, suffering,
growth, renunciation, dedication, fulfillment, gift, commitment, life, death.
All these together are summarized in the Bible in one single word in the Hebrew
language. This word is hesed. It is hard to translate into our language.
Generally, in our Bibles it is translated by charity, mercy, fidelity or loving
kindness. The communities of the Beloved Disciple sought to live this practice
of love in a very radical way. Jesus revealed this in His encounters with
people with sentiments of friendship and tenderness, as for example, in His
relationship with the family of Martha and Mary of Bethany: “Jesus loved Martha
and her sister and Lazarus.” He weeps before the tomb of Lazarus (Jn 11: 5,
33-36). Jesus always embodies His mission in a manifestation of love: “having
loved His own, He loved them to the end” (Jn 13: 1). In this love, Jesus
manifests His profound identity with the Father (Jn 15: 9). For His communities
there was no other commandment except this one: “to act as Jesus acted” (1 Jn
2: 6). This presupposes “love of the brethren” (1 Jn 2: 7-11; 3: 11-24; 2 Jn
4-6). Being such a central commandment in the life of the community, love is
defined by John as follows: “This is the proof of love that He laid down His
life for us and we too ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Our love
should not be just words or mere talk but something active and genuine.” (1 Jn
3:16- 17). Anyone who lives this love and manifests it in words and attitudes
becomes a Beloved Disciple.
For Personal Consideration
•
Look within yourself and say, “What is the most
profound reason that motivates me to work in the community – love, or a concern
for ideas?”
•
Jesus asks Peter three times. Each time he
answers you can feel a rising tension, one that says “what can I do to show you
if you don’t believe me?” It isn’t a casual conversation. Do I have this
forcefulness in responding to Jesus in my life, or just a casualness?
•
Do I allow myself to be dressed by someone else
for service to others? Do I go where He leads me? Is my attitude my answer to
Jesus’ question: “Follow Me.”?
•
What is “my life”? It is not only biological. It
is also lifestyle, actions, and identity that come from ego, pride, and
self-will. There is something in common though: To “lay down one’s life” has a
totality to it. Do I “lay down” my pride, ego, will, wants, and lifestyle for
others in my community, or for the “little ones”, the poor or rejected? Is it
in totality, or just when it is convenient?
Concluding Prayer
Bless Yahweh, my soul,
from the depths of my being, His holy name; bless
Yahweh, my soul, never forget all His acts of kindness. (Ps 103: 1-2)
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