Breakfast with the Risen Lord

05-04-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Augustine Acheme, VC

In today’s Gospel, we find the disciples drifting back to what’s familiar. After the crucifixion, even after encountering the Risen Jesus, Peter says, “I am going fishing.” It is not a dramatic moment- it’s a quiet return to routine, to something he can control. But Jesus doesn’t leave him there. He meets Peter again, not in glory, but on the shoreline, with fish on a fire and bread ready to share.

This scene is deeply tender. Jesus meets His weary friends not with rebuke, but with breakfast. In the simplicity of a meal, He offers comfort and renewal. The miraculous catch of fish is a reminder of the first me Peter was called (Luke 5), drawing a line between the past and this new beginning.

And then comes the heart of the encounter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Three times Jesus asks, echoing Peter’s three denials. But He doesn’t dwell on Peter’s failure- He transforms it. Each confession of love becomes a commission: “Feed my lambs…Tend my sheep.” Jesus is not only forgiving Peter; He is entrusting him with mission.

This is how the Risen Lord works. He doesn’t erase our past- He redeems it. He takes the broken pieces and uses them to build something new. St. Paul reminds us in the second reading that the Lamb who was slain is now glorified, worthy to receive honor and blessing (Revelation 5:12). This is the paradox of Easter: through suffering, glory; through death, new life.

Peter and the apostles will soon stand boldly before the Sanhedrin, declaring, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Their transformation began not in the upper room, but on the shore, with a fire, a meal, and a question: “Do you love me?”

That same question echoes to us today. In the midst of our routines, after moments of doubt or failure, Jesus still draws near. He meets us in the ordinary, offers mercy, and calls us to follow Him anew.

So wherever you find yourself this Easter season- confident or unsure, faithful or faltering- know that the Risen Lord is already waiting for you on the shore. He’s ready to feed you, forgive you, and send you forward in love. Fr. Augustine Acheme, VC