HOMILY FOR THE 3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR C 2
The Third Sunday of Easter in Year C centers on renewal, mercy, and mission, drawing from the Gospel of John 21:1-19, where Jesus appears to His disciples after His resurrection and restores Peter.
In today’s Gospel, St. John takes us to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where a familiar scene unfolds—a scene of tired fishermen after a hard night’s toil, empty nets, and an unexpected dawn of mercy.
- The disciples, after the resurrection, return to their daily activities, perhaps uncertain of what their life would become from after Our Lord’s Resurrection.
- They cast their nets throughout the night but catch nothing. However, a familiar voice calls from the shore: “Cast your net on the right side.”
- And with this simple command, everything changes. Their nets overflow with fish, and their hearts overflow with recognition—it is the Lord!
This moment is not just about the miraculous catch of fish. It is more about Our Lord Jesus Christ meeting His disciples in their place of struggle and in their situation of unproductiveness in spite of their toil.
- When they only rely on their own, they realize that their efforts are vain and sterile but with Jesus, fruitfulness and abundance are assured.
- How often do we rely on our own strength, only to come up empty? Yet Christ stands at the shores of our lives, offering direction, abundance, and renewal.
Then comes the powerful exchange between Jesus and Peter. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
- Three times Jesus asks. Three times Peter answers. Jesus offers Peter the possibility of embracing his mercy.
- It is a loving conversation of healing, a reversal of Peter’s threefold denial. With this, we see that Jesus does not condemn; He restores.
- With each question, Jesus is not looking for an apology—He is calling Peter into deeper love and responsibility: “Feed my sheep.” Jesus further renews His will to make Peter as the head of His flock: the Church.
Dear friends, today Christ asks each of us, “Do you love me?” It is not a question of the past—it is an invitation to the future. Like Peter, we have failed, we have denied, we have fallen short. But Jesus does not dwell on our failures; He invites us forward.
And we tell Our Lord: “Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you.” But then, love is not just sweet words but deeds—it is action. That is why we must heed Our Lord’s words: “Cast your net on the right side,” “Feed my sheep,” which are the call of mission, a call to serve, to love, to bring His presence into the world in the ordinary activities of our daily life.
As we continue through Easter, let us take heart in this Gospel. Christ comes to us in our everyday struggles. He fills our emptiness. He restores us, not with reproach, but with love. And He calls us to respond—not just in words, but in action.
May we, like Peter, rise from our failings and follow Christ anew, feeding His sheep with love, mercy, and witness. Amen.
A Blessed Sunday and week ahead!
Fr. Rolly Arjonillo
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Thanks and God bless you and your loved ones! Fr. Rolly Arjonillo.
