Jesus in the Stranger

Acts 5:27-32
PS 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13

Rev 5:11-14

Jn 21:1-19

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we find the disciples out trying to live their lives after the death of Jesus. As typically seems to be the case though, Jesus intervenes. At first, the disciples do not recognize him; he is just another stranger. Eventually though, they come to the realization that this stranger is Christ. They break bread with him as he preaches and shares some wisdom with them. There is certainly a lot to unpack in this reading, but what always sticks with me is how the disciples initially did not recognize Jesus. Furthermore, this is not the only instance of the disciples failing to recognize Christ after his resurrection. It happens time and time again. After having resurrected, Jesus appears to his disciples and it usually takes them some time to catch on to the fact that it is him. Reflecting on this leads me to think how perhaps, like the disciples, we too often fail to see Jesus even when he is standing right in front of us.

In my experiences, Jesus tends to have a way of sneaking into our lives and revealing himself through the most unexpected people. For me, my most powerful encounters with Christ have almost all been through those who are typically considered “undesirable” by our society; folks who are living in poverty, refugees, prisoners, strangers- those who our society often pushes to the margins and tries to forget about. Even though it may seem incredibly surprising to encounter Christ through those who our society often scorns, it falls perfectly in line with Jesus’ message. Jesus was born into this world poor and homeless. He chose to spend his time with those who society had rejected, the lepers, the tax collectors, the poor and the sick. Jesus, the Son of God, could have chosen to be anywhere within the social hierarchy of his world, and yet he chose to be with those pushed to the bottom rungs. This was a conscious choice of God’s.

But to simply encounter Christ in those who are marginalized is not enough and the Gospel shows us this today. In response to Peter’s affirmation that he does love him, Jesus implores him to feed and tend his sheep. Love for Christ manifests itself through actions; words are not enough. Obviously, Jesus is not talking about literal sheep here. Perhaps the sheep that Jesus is referring to are the ones in our society who, like sheep, are incredibly vulnerable. The most vulnerable of our world are almost always the ones our society pushes to the margins and desperately tries to ignore. To God though, sheep are so much more than just vulnerable. It is in fact the sheep who in the end will be the most powerful. As we hear in the second reading today, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing.” The image of Christ as the Lamb carries a significance for all those considered the sheep of our world. They too, are deserving of strength and power in their own way. This strength and power, however, are not just things that will suddenly appear at the end of ages. Rather it is something that we are called to actively participate in constructing, to bring about God’s will “on Earth as it is in Heaven.” Feeding and tending to Jesus’ sheep then means feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, ensuring that every person in this world can live their life with dignity. In essence, it means working for justice. This is what a commitment to loving Christ looks like.

As we see in the first reading though, committing ourselves to Christ is not always easy and, especially when working for justice, it often put us in direct opposition to those in power. What an inspiration it is to see apostles “rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” They are actually celebrating the fact that they are being persecuted! What a beautiful testament to their faith and commitment to Christ! When Jesus is speaking with the disciples in this week’s Gospel, he also alludes to the obstacles of being a Christian when he says “Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Loving Christ may not always lead us down paths that we want to go down at first.

The readings this week invite us to see the face of Christ in the strangers amongst us, especially in the sheep of our world who society often rejects or deems weak and unimportant. It invites us to stand strong in our commitment to our faith like the apostles in the second reading, even if that means standing in opposition to the status quo. It invites us to allow ourselves to be led where we may not want to go, but where we will ultimately find true fulfillment- fulfillment that will cause us to celebrate even in the face of persecution, to be so overcome with joy that we are willing to swim through raging waters like Peter. In the end, it all boils down to taking to heart Jesus’ simple, but challenging command. The very last words of this week’s Gospel: “Follow me.”