Obey

Third Sunday of Easter

11 April 2016  

First reading
Acts 5:27-32,40-41

The high priest demanded an explanation of the Apostles. ‘We gave you a formal warning’ he said ‘not to preach in this name, and what have you done? You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and seem determined to fix the guilt of this man’s death on us.’ In reply Peter and the apostles said, ‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men; it was the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, but it was you who had him executed by hanging on a tree. By his own right hand God has now raised him up to be leader and saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins through him to Israel. We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’ They warned the apostles not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. And so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name.

 

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 29:2,4-6,11-13

 

Second reading
Apocalypse 5:11-14

In my vision, I, John, heard the sound of an immense number of angels gathered round the throne and the animals and the elders; there were ten thousand times ten thousand of them and thousands upon thousands, shouting, ‘The Lamb that was sacrificed is worthy to be given power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing.’ Then I heard all the living things in creation – everything that lives in the air, and on the ground, and under the ground, and in the sea, crying, ‘To the One who is sitting on the throne and to the Lamb, be all praise, honour, glory and power, for ever and ever.’ And the four animals said, ‘Amen’; and the elders prostrated themselves to worship.

 

Gospel	John 21:1-19

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ They replied, ‘We’ll come with you.’ They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night.

  It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in. The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’ At these words ‘It is the Lord’, Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.

  As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. Jesus said, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’; they knew quite well it was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.

  After the meal Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

‘I tell you most solemnly,

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 round you

and take you where you would rather not go.’

In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’

 

Reflection
By Fely C. Santiago

“We must obey God rather than men..”

 

In this time and age of “do-it-yourself”, instant gratification, instant change, to be faster, to have more, we tend to also rely more on ourselves and forget to surrender and obey God’s will for our lives. We want to be in control. We want to be in charge. We are restless if we do not hit our goals. As a result we still are not happy and at peace. We are always in a rat race wanting to have power, riches and honor. That is why most of us who live a life like this are always under stress!

 

When we give in to worries and anxieties, we do not TRUST God. We listen to others instead.

 

Obedience is not necessarily “don't do this, don’t do that.” God is not a demanding God, nor a punishing God that when you commit sin, you will automatically go to hell. We must understand that God is a loving  and merciful God. All He desires for our lives is to live in the abundance of His GRACE and mercy.

 

To be obedient to God is to be CENTERED on Him. It is just like a pail under a faucet. If the pail is not aligned to the faucet, it will not be filled with water. But if the pail is aligned to the faucet, the pail can be filled with water to brim. Same with our lives. If we are not CENTERED or aligned to the grace of GOD our lives will never be full. We will always feel empty and missing something. But if we are centered on God, we will be filled to the overflowing of His Graces and Blessings

 

Always make God first in our lives. In Matthew 6:33, “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness. And all these things will be given unto you..” This is what happened to the apostles when they went fishing that night. They caught nothing. But when Jesus said, “Cast the net over the side of the boat and you will find something”. They obeyed Jesus and they caught a high number of fish that almost ripped their nets. Obedience to God will bring so many blessings in our lives. Obey God and TRUST in Him..

 

Surrender. Let go and let God..

 

Prayer

 

Father God, I am powerless when I am apart from You. Be the CENTER of my life Lord. I know that too many times in my life, I tend to rely on my own strength because I always want to be in control. But as a result my life is always under stress. I am more frustrated because I do not get the results that I wanted. Help me to learn to totally surrender to You Father God. You know what is BEST for me. Change my heart and renew my mind. May I make Jesus really my Lord and Savior. Help me to become the person that You want me to be Father God, in Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen .