Homily by Archbishop Patrick C. Pinder
at Weekday Mass during his Bishops Meeting in Rome
prior to the start of his ad limina visit
Friday, Octave of Easter
March 28, 2008

Readings:
Acts 4:1-12
[Ps. 118:1-27a]
John 21:1-14

You probably heard the story of the man taking a walk at night.  He came across a friend of his down on his hands and knees beneath the streetlight searching intently for something.  He asked the searcher, “What did you lose?” “My contacts” was the reply.  He asked, “Did you lose it right here?”  The searcher responded, “No, I lost it over there in the bushes, but the light is better here.”  His search was as convenient as it was ineffective.  He was searching where the light was---rather than shedding light on the place where he should be searching. 

The Gospel put before us this Friday within the Octave of Easter, has a number of interesting details.  The disciples, after fruitlessly, fishing all night, set out again at the request of Jesus.  They then pull in a good catch.  153 is the number given.  St. Jerome commenting on this text explained that ancient Greek zoologist identified 153 species of fish.  In other words, in this catch there was one fish of every kind.  Notice too that as the disciples return with their fish, Jesus asks them to bring some of the fish they just caught.  But he does not need to because he already has fish cooking on the fire he has prepared.

Today’s Gospel is a variant of the story of the miraculous catch of fish from Luke 5:1-11 that is a story we came to reflect on at some length because of John Paul II’s exhortation Tertio Millenio Inueunte.   At the start of the new millenium John Paul II urged the whole Church to put out into the deep once again (duc in altum).  This is a document whose rich insights we could benefit from reviewing once again.  Putting out into the deep, making a renewed effort, implies something new and different, not just doing the same things in the same old ways.

Jesus says:  “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” (John 21:6)

Unlike Luke’s account of this miraculous catch of fish, John’s account is placed in the context of the Resurrection.  That is quite fitting for our thought and reflection within the Octave of Easter.  I am always struck by the words of the angels to the women who come to the tomb of Jesus to anoint his body.

The angels ask them:  “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?” “He is not here.  He has been raised.” (Luke 24:5) 

In our lives, in our pastoral strategies, do we seek the living one among the dead?  Sure we do!  Perhaps in ways too numerous to catalogue and even in ways too serious to ignore.

The words of Jesus to the weary fishermen in our gospel today are a challenge to us too.  We are invited to recognize the reality of ineffectiveness and even failure in our approaches.  We are invited to face the imperative of new directions and fresh insights.