“We must obey God rather than human beings.”
The Jewish authorities did not know how to handle the ‘problem of Jesus’. They had suppressed Jesus and his movement by crucifying Him, but now, His apostles proclaim that He is alive. Jesus was a rebel in their society and at this juncture His disciples are the ‘troublemakers’. They have created a ‘sect’ – ‘a freedom moment’, which is proving to be extremely dangerous for they dare to challenge the leaders who never had any opposition so far.
Of course, it is expected of every Christian to disturb the conscience of the people. Jesus was a troublemaker, so every one of His disciples must become troublemakers. Every Christian must oppose injustice, oppression, hatred, and every form of social, religious, and political evils. If in the present age the church is not seen as a disturber of “the world’s conscience”, then we need to seriously rethink our role in the world as disciples of Christ. What stops us? Is it a fear of losing our comfortable life or a fear of losing life itself? Do we obey God or people?
The early church knew well its role in the world. In the Gospel, John beautifully narrates the story of recommissioning the disciples for their mission. The disciples went back to the profession of fishing which they knew well. There were seven people (number of perfection) on the boat. This small boat, floating on the fleeting waters is the beautiful imagery of the church. The Jews were scared of the waters, for them it symbolized chaos and hostility. The work of the church is to be in this fleeting hostile world and lead people to God by becoming ‘fishers of men’.
This mission will be successful if the church relies totally on the Lord. The Risen Lord is always present to help and guide the church. Sometimes, we may not be able to feel Him or recognize Him, but He will guard His church. In today’s scripture, Jesus showed His concern for His church by preparing a breakfast for His people. It was a unique breakfast – a business breakfast to launch a mission. Peter was asked to ‘feed the flock’, which means to love everyone like the master had loved Him.
The mission is simple, yet, hard to achieve. It is to “obey God rather than human beings”.
– Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD