Reaction to Christ
“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.”John 21:7
After Jesus had risen from the dead, He appeared numerous of times to His disciples. One of these appearances was on the shore where Jesus prepares a fire and breakfast. He asked the disciples who were out on the boat if they had caught anything — a sure flashback to when the Lord first called Peter. They said no and so Jesus instructed them to put the net on the right side of the boat. Surely after doing so, they caught many fish. At this John told Peter that “It is the Lord,” and Peter jumps into the water and swims eagerly and anticipatingly to the shore to meet His Lord.
Some of the disciples were still a bit taken aback but believed that the man standing before them was indeed the Risen Lord. They were quiet. Peter jumped and swam. What was the underlying factor contributing to this difference of reactions? There are many videos on the internet capturing the reaction of friends and family members who were surprised by a loved one who had been away from some time, mostly those in our armed forces and recently those who have been separated because of the pandemic. In all of those videos there are elements of shock, surprise, embrace, and an overwhelming of emotions. There is always one who has returned and one who stayed. Even in these videos we see a varying degree of reactions, some jumping onto the person, screaming, and crying, and others more subdued, standing in the background shocked and stunned. What was the difference? Perhaps the individual’s personality. Perhaps the level of intimacy of the relationship. Those closest and those with whom the one had shared the most gave the greater reaction. Peter walked with the Lord for three years, and He was the one given a special place among the Apostles, and the one who vowed to lay down his life for the Lord, but he was also the one who denied Him, not once, but three times. Perhaps it was this intense mixture of love, remorse, regret, and gratitude that made Peter jump into the water to swim to Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, what is our reaction to the Resurrected Christ? How deep is our relationship with Him? How would we respond if someone says to us, “It is the Lord?” How would you respond if I pointed to the tabernacle and say to you, “It is the Lord!” How would you respond if I pointed to the person next to you and say, “It is the Lord!” The Lord is risen and He is truly among us. Do we recognize Christ’s presence today? If so, how will we choose to respond?
For an additional reflection on this Gospel, see my entry from last year focusing on the actions of Peter and the Lord’s call to him, “Going Back.”
