The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 01 May 2022
Every Gospel proclaimed in our Eucharistic celebrations is always about the immense love of God for us expressed in the Passion, Death and Resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
But there is something so lovely in this Sunday’s story about the third appearance of Jesus to his disciples at the shores of Lake Tiberias that calls us to be in love with the Lord also in order to see and experience his daily coming to our lives, something which the Stylistics expressed in their first gold disc that sold over one million copies in 1971, their song “You Are Everything”.
Today I saw somebody Who looked just like you She walked like you do I thought it was you As she turned the corner I called out your name I felt so ashamed When it wasn't you, wasn't you, oh, oh You are everything and everything is you Oh, oh you are everything and everything is you Oh, oh, you are everything and everything is you
You Are Everything tells us of our common experience of always seeing, even hearing the ones we love even after they are long gone. It is love’s most unique power and quality that enable us to find our beloved everywhere because they are everything to us.
Such was the experience by John the beloved and Simon Peter who recognized the Risen Lord in their each peculiar manner of loving him: John in his blessedness and Peter in his sinfulness (https://lordmychef.com/2022/04/30/jesus-in-our-blessedness-and-sinfulness/).
After a fruitless night of fishing, Jesus appeared to the disciples before dawn, telling them to cast their net to the right of their boat when suddenly they could not pull it with the plentiful catch! Seeing the great catch, John the beloved recognized the man at the shore as Jesus, telling Simon Peter “It is the Lord”! Only him recognized the Risen Lord after seeing the plentiful catch because he was the only one of the Twelve who truly loved Jesus by remaining at the foot of his Cross on Good Friday while the rest went into hiding.
Later after their breakfast, Jesus asked Peter thrice by addressing him in his real name of Simon, “Do you love me?” We are told that Peter was distressed after the third question by Jesus because he knew so well it had something to do with his three denials of the Lord on the night of his arrest and questioning by the Chief Priests. Peter’s response was so beautiful, admitting his guilt while at the same time professing his faith and love in the Lord by telling him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
So many times, we are like Peter: we know so well that Jesus knows even our most guarded sins and yet, we know that he perfectly knows too that despite our sins and weakness that we love him.
This is the grace of this third Sunday in Easter, that we remain in love with Jesus. We cannot follow nor meet Jesus whether in our blessedness or sinfulness unless we love him first of all. Jesus perfectly knows human love is imperfect; only he can love us perfectly. We do not have to pretend to be perfect before him; just be our true selves, sinful yet sorrowful, to surely meet him who never leaves our side for he alone is our everything.
Have a blessed week ahead!
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