Third Sunday of Easter [May 5, 2019] John 21:1-19<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we observe the Gospel readings of the past days and\nSundays, we will notice that most of them are speaking about the risen Christ\u2019s\nappearances to His disciples. One unnoticeable yet interesting feature in these\nstories is that of the presence of food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two disciples who walk to Emmaus, invite Jesus to have a\ndinner. Jesus takes the bread, says the blessing, breaks it, and gives it, and\nHe disappears. The two disciples come to their senses, and realize He is Jesus\n[Luk 24:30]. When Jesus appears to the Eleven and other disciples, they are\nterrified. To dispel their doubt on His resurrection, Jesus presents His body\nand eats the fish given to Him [Luk 24:42]. And in today\u2019s Gospel, Jesus\ninvites His seven disciples to a breakfast at the shore of the Lake of\nTiberias. After another miraculous catch, Jesus prepares bread and fish for the\ndisciples who are no longer baffled by the appearance of their Master [John\n21:13].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We may ask, \u201cWhy bread and fish?\u201d These are simple food that\nare often available at Jewish household. Yet, looking deeper, bread and fish\npossess a profound meaning. Bread and fish are earliest symbol of Christ and\nChristians. Bread, especially the breaking of the bread, is the technical\nbiblical name for the Eucharist. In the Acts of Apostles, the first Christians\ngather around the apostles for the teaching and breaking of the bread [Acts\n2:42]. On a Sunday, Paul leads the community of Troas in worship as he preaches\nand breaks bread [Acts 20:7]. Fish, in Greek, is \u201cIchthus\u201d and it stands for\n\u201cIesous Christos Theos Hyios Soter\u201d, meaning Jesus Christ God Son [and] Savior.\nThe symbol of fish was scattered inside catacombs of Rome as a sign of\nChristian gathering in time of persecution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The question lingers: why does the risen Lord ask for food\nand invites the disciples to eat? Firstly, eating food is one of the most basic\nactivities of human being. It points to our biological functions that sustains\nour bodily life and growth. The spiritless body neither consumes food, nor the\nbodiless spirit enjoys meals. Jesus shows His disciples that his resurrection\nis not a matter of spiritual enlightenment, but truly a bodily reality. His\ndisciples neither see a spirit floating in the air, nor simply believe that\ntheir Teacher is alive in their hearts. The tomb is empty because Jesus,\nincluding His body, has risen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, eating together does not only satisfy our tummy,\nbut it also brings people closer together. While we are enjoying food, we\ncannot but share our thoughts and hearts to each other. Eating together builds\nnot only the body, but also the dialogue and community. One of my favorite\nactivities in the convent is the meal time, not because I am fond of eating,\nbut we share a lot of stories and opinions. We practically speak about anything\nunder the sun, from the latest movie, Avenger Endgame, the current political\nissues, to theological discussion on St. Thomas Aquinas. We also tell our joys,\nconcerns and worries in our ministry and our future as a community. Simple\nfood, yet great bonding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upon the simple reality of eating together, Jesus builds His\ncommunity. In a shared meal, He retells His stories of painful passion and\nshameful death, and unearths its profound meanings especially as the\nfulfillment of the Scriptures. The events of his death used to be absurdity and\nloss of hope, but in the dining table, the risen Lord restores the faith, hope\nand love that go dim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus leaves us the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread,\nthe sacred meal. Like the first disciples, it is here that we discover the\nrisen Lord who shares His body as a spiritual food, and His Word as the meaning\nof our life. In the Eucharist, we are assured that the worst of this world does\nnot have the last say, and the battle against absurdity has already been won. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fish and Bread<\/p>\n
Third Sunday of Easter
\nMay 5, 2019
\nJohn 21:1-19<\/p>\n
If we observe the Gospel readings of the past days and Sundays, we will notice that most of them are speaking about the risen Christ\u2019s appearances to His disciples. One unnoticeable yet interesting feature in these stories is that of the presence of food. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[57,58],"class_list":["post-8468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-renungan","tag-english","tag-sunday-reflection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8469,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8468\/revisions\/8469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}