The Reality of the Resurrection

'Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.'

--John 21: 1-19

Two of my favorite movies ever are Star Wars and Rocky.  What do these two films have in common, besides being awesome?! They both spawned a whole bunch of sequels. Why would a film need to have a sequel (besides the obvious answer of more money), especially when the original is such a good story on its own, with characters who grow and overcome great adversity and teach something to the audience? I suspect it's because we as an audience want to know more about what happens to these characters.  We are invested, and we figure there is more story to be told.  As a result we still get new installments of Star Wars and Rocky and probably will until we are long gone from this earth! 

Posters for the original Rocky and Star Wars, before the sequels.

What if I told you that the Gospel of John had a sequel? Biblical scholars are largely in agreement that the 21st chapter of the Fourth Gospel came about sometime after the original ending and was not added on officially until after the canon of Scripture had been solidified several hundred years later.  Scholars have come to this conclusion due to several factors including the narratives of the 20th and 21st chapters, as well as the use of the Greek.  The original ending, the 20th chapter, saw Jesus appear to all 11 of the apostles, ensuring that each of them had seen his resurrected glory and believed in him.  What's more, the final sentences of the 20th chapter certainly do sound like a fitting conclusion to the Gospel as a whole:

'Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.'

--John 20: 30-31

But there is more for the Gospel writer to teach us, and we get those lessons in this sequel. One of those lessons has to do with what was arguably the greatest debate among the early Christians:  whether the resurrection was real.  Are we talking about a physical, bodily resurrection, or something metaphorical?  When Jesus appeared to his disciples after Easter morning was he just a ghost, or were they hallucinating?  In the 21st chapter the writer settles the reality of the resurrection with the picture of Jesus eating breakfast with his disciples on the seashore. Were Jesus a ghost he would have no need of food. And yet he has breakfast with the disciples, not just breaking the bread and fish, but eating them as well. Here the writer appears to settle the debate:  the reality of the resurrection is that Jesus' resurrected body is a real one, and it is the prototype for what our bodies will be like in the Day of Resurrection.

An artist's depiction of the resurrected Jesus preparing breakfast for his disciples.

Speaking of fish, the disciples, at Jesus' command, cast their net on the right side and bring a whopping 153 fish into their net. Why 153?  Why not just say that they caught so many fish that the nets almost broke?  Saint Jerome, who translated the bible from Greek to Latin, said this number was used because there are 153 different types of fish in the sea, and that the disciples' net hauled in one of each. This may not have been a factual statement, but it was a truthful one in the sense that Jerome goes on to say that the net represents the Church, which is called to welcome in every single kind of person.  Furthermore, regardless of schisms, in-fighting, and conflict of all kinds, the Church, like the net in the story, never breaks.  This is the reality of the resurrection, that the Church that bears the name of the resurrected Jesus is big enough to hold every single kind of person and is strong enough to never break apart. 

Lastly, this sequel gives us an important lesson on love and the responsibility that comes with it. Jesus thrice asks Simon Peter, “Do you love me?"  and thrice Peter says that he loves Jesus.  Once more, the number is not irrelevant.  Peter's three affirmations of love for Jesus mirror his three denials of even knowing Jesus in the Jerusalem courtyard before Jesus' death. And with each affirmation comes the invitation from Jesus to, "Feed my lambs.  Tend my sheep.  Feed my sheep."  The reality o the resurrection is that the love we have for Jesus, and his love for us, does, in fact, bring us forgiveness of our sins.  We are no longer defined by the worst thing we have done, as Peter is no longer defined by his denial but by his affirmation of love.  And for those of us who know that forgiveness and do affirm our love for Jesus, there comes the reponsibility to care for all of the flock of God.  Jesus himself said there were sheep who were not part of his fold, and that he must care for them as well.  The same is true for us.  We bear the responsibility of tending to, caring for, loving, feeding, sheltering, and altogether supporting every single sheep, and every single lamb.  Yes, even those we do not think belong in the flock.  We, like Peter, are responsible for loving as Jesus loved, unconditionally, and doing our duty to safeguard those who cannot do so themselves. The reality of the resurrection is that we have a responsibility in sharing Christ's love, and when we accept this responsibility, then can we really hear Jesus and answer him when he says, "Follow me."

A Chinese depiction of Jesus and Peter.

Most sequels have a good subtitle; after all, the newest Star Wars is called The Rise of Skywalker!  I think the subtitle for the 21st chapter of John, the sequel to the Gospel, could easily be The Reality of the Resurrection.  Here in this chapter we see what it means to live in a world where the resurrection has occurred.  The reality of the resurrection is that it is real, bodily, and physical, and that Jesus' own is the blueprint for ours.  The reality of the resurrection is that the Church that bears Jesus' name is big enough to hold every single kind of person, and regardless of any troubles it will never, ever break apart.  And the reality of the resurrection is that we who claim to love Jesus must bear the responsibility to love as he loves, to care for every person we meet.  We are an Easter people, brothers and sisters  We are living in Easter right now!  Jesus is as known to us in our Sunday meal of bread and wine as he was in that seaside breakfast of fish and bread.  Each day he asks us that question, "Do you love me?" Each day we seek to answer, "Yes, Lord!  We love you!"  And each day he is there with that invitation:  "Follow me!"  May we have the grace to follow him and live into the reality of the resurrection!

Doubting Thomas and the Power of Showing

Did you ever have show and tell in school when you were a kid?  You know what I’m talking about, you bring in an item, show it to your classmates and then tell them what it is and why it’s special.  We usually think of showing and telling as going together, but in creative circles, like storytelling or screen or playwriting, showing and telling are often in conflict with one another. Back in my acting days my directors would always say, “Don’t tell me, show me!” You see, telling is about relaying information, it’s cerebral.  Showing, on the other hand, is experiential.  It says something without having to use words.  The Russian playwright Anton Chekov once said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining, but show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

An Orthodox icon of the story of Doubting Thomas

This past Sunday we heard the familiar story of Doubting Thomas (John 20: 19-31).  The disciples who were met by the resurrected Jesus in that upper room on Easter Sunday morning were so moved by the experience that they had to tell Thomas, the only one not there, about it.  I’m sure they were very detailed in their explanation, painting a perfect mental picture, but Thomas doesn’t believe them.  Thomas isn’t about telling, he wants to be shown.  So the next week Jesus arrives in the same manner and shows Thomas the nail and spear marks on his body, prompting Thomas to give that beautiful exclamation, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus shows, he doesn’t tell.  Before his crucifixion Jesus showed people the love and mercy of God, much more than telling.  And after his resurrection, he doesn’t just rely on the disciples to tell Thomas that he has been raised, but he comes to Thomas and shows that he his alive. 

For too long history was not kind to Thomas, who of course was referred to as Doubting Thomas and  chastised for the fact that he could not believe without seeing.  But one thing to remember about that line from Jesus—blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe—is that that line is not Thomas, but it is for the community of John’s Gospel, and everyone who has come after, none of whom have seen a physical Jesus, resurrected version or not.  Doubting Thomas is not exactly a fair nickname because rather than being a dig at Thomas, Jesus' words are meant to support and encourage those of us who are shown the glory of Jesus in a world where he is not physically present.  Thomas simply wants to experience Jesus, rather than be told about him. I suspect we can all relate to that.  

In this way Thomas is very much a model disciple for all of us.  We have all doubted, questioned, and wondered.  I would not be a priest were it not for those who encouraged my own questions and curiosities over the years. Faith should not just be informational, believing blindly what someone says just because.  Instead, faith is meant to be experiential, it is to be shown.  Jesus showed himself to Thomas in order that Thomas may go and show his faith to others—which history says he did among people as far east as modern-day India.  Thomas’ example reminds us that it is in questioning that we go deeper in our relationship with God and achieve greater spiritual maturity.  Our wondering, our doubting leads us to a place where merely telling is not enough.  Truthfully, if we are to go out into the world and make disciples, as Jesus instructs us to do, simply telling will not do it.  People want to experience the resurrected Jesus, they want to be shown the power of his love and mercy.  Jesus showed himself to Thomas, and Thomas showed his faith to the world.  Can we not do the same?  Can we not go and show our faith in our actions more so than our simply our words?  Can we not invite others into an experience, instead of just relaying information?  Remember the words of Theresa of Avila, that Jesus has no hands, no feet, but yours!  So go and show your faith, as Jesus and Thomas did! Thanks be to God for Doubting Thomas, who reminds us of the power of showing over telling.  Blessed Thomas, pray for us.