Third Sunday of Easter – Year C
May 4, 2025
Gospel Lectionary Text
John 21:1-19
21:1 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way.
21:2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.
21:3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
21:4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
21:5 Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No."
21:6 He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
21:7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.
21:8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
21:9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
21:10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught."
21:11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.
21:12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord.
21:13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
21:14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
21:15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."
21:16 A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep."
21:17 He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the 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.
21:18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go."
21:19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."
Context
Welcome to the Third Sunday of Easter. This week we find Jesus hosting breakfast around a charcoal fire — echoing the courtyard fire where Peter denied him three times. But rather than a scene of public shaming, this encounter invites us to witness restoration.
When Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love me?" many interpret it as a rebuke — a moment where Peter is forced to confront his betrayal, sorta like Jesus is rubbing his nose in failure and shame. The conventional reading often hinges on the Greek words for “love” used in the passage: Jesus asks using agape (divine, self-giving love), while Peter responds with phileo (affectionate friendship), typically seen as a lesser form of love. This interpretation suggests that Peter is humbled by his inability to rise to agape, culminating in grief when Jesus finally “steps down” to his level and asks, “Do you phileo me?” It’s read as Peter’s admission of inferior love.
But what if something more transformative is happening? What if, rather than highlighting Peter's failure, Jesus is inviting him into a process of self-discovery — helping him re-narrate his shame?
What if Peter’s insistence on phileo isn’t a confession of inadequacy, but a profound recognition — that divine love, when incarnated, manifests as friendship? What if he’s remembering Jesus' words: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends… I call you friends”?
In this light, Peter mirrors back what he’s learned through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection: that agape, in its fullest expression, becomes the love between friends. Jesus doesn’t just tolerate Peter’s brokenness — he affirms Peter’s breakthrough. This isn’t a story of reluctant forgiveness; it’s a revolutionary recognition that transforms Peter's shame into love.
Question
This week Jesus restores Peter through an unusual fishing trip, a charcoal fire, a simple meal, and series of questions. How are these interventions vital to Peter's healing? Why doesn't Jesus just say to Peter, I forgive you?
Reflections
Praying Eucharistically - Weekly Homily by James Alison:
Understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard.
Poetry
And Then
by Matthew Nienow
I took off my shame
like a dress
made of light.
Like a dress
made of the self-
spun cocoon.
I was not beautiful.
It was not about beauty.
Beneath my shame,
the body
was a raw red thing,
untrained in acceptance.
But the air was delicate
and cool as a mother
blowing gently
on a burn.
I had lived so long
in the fabric,
I thought it my skin.
I had forgotten
how new
anyone forgiven
can become.
Prayer
This week's call to prayer includes a story from our global community that helps ground us in the everyday reality of those we serve:
Come Lord Jesus, occupy our shame without judgement. We are desperate for your healing touch. May our wounds and the wounds of this world become wombs of new creation, bearing seeds of new life. Free us, O Lord, to be midwives to the holy in all things.
Where there is blindness, call forth the gift of sight. Where there is voicelessness, call forth the gift of voice. Where there is despair, call forth the gift of joy. Where there is isolation, call forth the gift of community. Where there is fear and violence of any kind, call forth the gift of peace born of your love, and make us a community of the Incarnation who create cities of peace for all people.
We pray this in the name of the Father who is for us, the Son who is with us, and the Spirit who unites us all in the never-ending dance of Love.
Amen.
Listen to the complete call to prayer below: