First Reading - Acts 28:16-31
Gospel - John 21:20-25
In the gospel passage, Jesus gives a fitting response to the question of curious Peter who wanted to know the fate of John. The response of Jesus implies that what is important is not to be curious about what the future will bring but to serve the Lord faithfully each day, keeping to the way He has marked out for each one. This also hints at that the personal responsibility to the duty as followers is more important than getting worried about other things and about the future. Our following of Jesus is a matter of faith in his promise.
(The gospel passage concludes with John’s testimony about the truth of the content of his Gospel. It also explains the purpose of John’s Gospel: to strengthen our Faith in what Jesus did and taught. In addition, it tells us that the written Gospels contain only a fraction of what Jesus taught and did, implying that we have to depend upon the Sacred Tradition of the early Church handed down to us by the early Fathers of the Church to complete the truth of the written testimony.)
The first reading sheds light on the innocent suffering of Paul for the sake of the good news which gives him hope for the eternal life in Christ. Paul claims in the passage that his priority lies in the proclamation of the good news to everyone who comes and listens to him. The passage also highlights that Paul was not allowed to go about freely to proclaim the gospel as he was under house arrest in Rome but he was still proclaiming the good news fearlessly and without hindrance. This implies that the message of the gospel remains unfettered despite our physical restrictions and boundaries. We need to find a way to proclaim the good news.
Dear friends, just as Peter and John each had his unique role in Christ’s Church, so each believer, as a member of this Mystical Body of Christ, is with their different talents, strengths, weaknesses, and limits, and has one’s own particular work to do in bringing the task of the Body – to bring the world to Christ and Christ to the world – to its completion. Hence it is our duty to bear witness to Christ by surrendering our lives to Christ on the altar of service for the people of God and by offering ourselves as humble instruments in the hands of Christ.
The first reading reminds us of our duty as followers of Jesus that we are to proclaim the good news in every situation of our lives. The response of Jesus, in the gospel, to Peter tells us that we are responsible to our duty as followers of Jesus. Therefore, we cannot excuse ourselves with our excuses but we have to find a way to carry out our duty as followers of Jesus.
Let's pray that we may be able to proclaim the good news faithfully.
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