First Reading - Acts 28:16-31
Gospel - John 21:20-25
In the Gospel passage, Jesus gives a fitting response to the curious Peter, who wanted to know the fate of John. Jesus' response implies that it is more important to serve the Lord faithfully each day, following the path He has set for us, rather than worrying about the future or others. This underscores that our personal responsibility as followers is more important than concerns about other things and 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. Additionally, it tells us that the written Gospels contain only a fraction of what Jesus taught and did, implying that we must depend on 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 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 does each believer. As members of the Mystical Body of Christ, we all have different talents, strengths, weaknesses, and limits, and each of us has our 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 to proclaim the good news in every situation of our lives. Jesus' response to Peter in the Gospel tells us that we are responsible for our duty as followers of Jesus. Therefore, we cannot excuse ourselves with excuses but must 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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