Brothers and Sisters, have you ever met an old friend from your primary or high school who
couldn’t remember you? You hadn’t seen each other for a long time and, naturally, your appearances
had changed over the years. But, as soon as you opened your mouth and called your friend by name,
he or she smiled and straight away knew who you were. This happened to me while I was on holidays
in Europe when I was not recognised on the street by one of my best friends from primary school.
In today’s Gospel we read about an encounter of Jesus with his Apostles by the Sea of Tiberias.
The disciples were fishing when Jesus appeared to them. He was standing on the shore looking at
them. They saw him but didn’t have a clue who he was. It was not only “Simon Peter,
Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his
disciples” (Jn 21:2) who couldn’t recognise the risen Lord. The Gospels also mention two other
followers of Christ who couldn’t recognise Him when they were on the road to Emmaus. We also
remember the story of Mary Magdalene who went to the tomb on Resurrection Sunday.
When she saw a man standing at the entrance of the tomb, she thought it was a gardener.
Why couldn’t His closest friends recognise their Master? They had spent a few years with Him. They
had witnessed the many miracles He performed, but now they couldn’t identify Him. The Lord
was only recognised by them when He called his disciples’ names or at the breaking of bread.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus has called us by name since our baptism. He calls us by name each time
we celebrate the sacraments. We recognise His presence in our lives when we find time to pray.
We recognise His voice when we pick up the Bible and allow Him to speak to us
through His word. We recognise His presence with us when a priest breaks the Bread of Life at Mass.
Even now while you are listening to me on your smartphone, computer, tablet, TV or game console,
you can recognise His presence because each time when Jesus’ message is preached, He is there.
He is not limited by time or space. He is with each of us right now,
even though we are far away from each other. There is only one thing needed to recognise Jesus –
faith. If we keep our faith no matter where we are and, despite the different challenging
circumstances of our lives, our hearts will be burning inside of us, we will feel our Saviour’s
presence and we will be able to proclaim with Saint John: “It is the Lord!” (Jn 21:7). Not only
that. We will not be afraid to be His witnesses in the world despite the potential opposition.
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the high priest of the Sanhedrin warned
the disciples not to speak in the name of Jesus. However, Saint Peter wisely admitted,
“Obedience of God comes before obedience to men” (Acts 5:29). Let us remember these words.
When we are serious about our faith, we will obey God and practice His commandments with
all our hearts. It may cost us, and maybe we will experience different types of persecution, just as
the Apostles did, but our faithfulness to the Lord will allow us to lead meaningful and happy lives.
Brothers and Sisters, as Christians
we need to share with others that the only One who guarantees life in abundance and eternal salvation
is Jesus. We need to encourage other people to accept Him as their Lord and
Saviour. We have to convince those around us that Jesus wants to be part of their lives 24/7.
Christ calls us all by name and asks us to follow Him no matter our status or nationality.
Dear friends, the first Christians were often beaten and imprisoned. Even in our times,
about a hundred thousand followers of Christ die every year because of their faith.
If you are going through a hard time and find it difficult to recognise Jesus’ face
or to feel His loving presence, please remember that He is always
with you. Remember His promise that He will be with his followers for ever.
Let us pray that all the peoples of the globe come to a realisation that Jesus Christ is
the answer to all the issues of the world. Only in the risen Lord will we find the ultimate
meaning of our lives. Let us choose to be part of His plan of salvation every day.