Third Sunday of Easter Year C. By Tobe Eze

Third Sunday of Easter Year C.

First Reading

Acts 5:27b-32.40b-41

Second Reading

Revelation 5:11-14

Gospel

John 21:1-19

THEME: WHAT DO YOU TEACH?

Almost all we do or say on earth affect others who are around us both directly and indirectly. If that is true, then we have to be careful in all we do for if we mislead any of these people of God, it will be better for us that we were not born (Matthew 26:24). Some of us are teaching others good ways of salvation while others are taking people back.

In the first reading, the apostles were busy taking people to the way of life while the chief priests were busy trying to stop them and to take people back to darkness. Ask yourself where you belong. Do you belong to the chief priests or to the apostles? Answer yourself. Continue Reading..................

In the second reading, John saw the vision of the glory of God. This vision can also be repeated (not exactly as John saw it) in our own time. We can as well see the same vision like John if we teach people as John taught in his days. John in his days and till the present time through his writings in the Bible, taught and has continued to teach the ways of salvation to all who believe in Christ Jesus. Shall we be like John or the chief priests in the first reading? The answer is private or subjective.

In the gospel, Peter was carried away just like some of us today are carried away and he led the apostles out for fishing. As the head that was supposed to encourage others to stay and wait for the Lord, he was the first that lost faith and wanted to go for fishing and others followed him. As we are heading many groups in this our world today, how do we lead them and where do we take them to? Peter took them back to their previous ways of life and that is what we experience in this our present age.

What our forefathers saw and were running away from and embracing Christianity are what our young men and women are running back to and some of us here are the ones leading them back to that. It is not a good journey. Approaching this from an existential background taking my Local Government as a case study. Nsukka people during the early evangelization left the issue of Omabe, Akatakpa, Oriokpa, Odo, Edi and so many other traditional religion practices to embrace Christianity but these our present Christians are now going back to those things in the name of maintaining culture. Ajughi aju rie butere ariaghi aria nwuo. Since we are now going back to what we do not know and what others ran out from, there will be trouble for us.

I met a young man one day along an express road where Akatakpa masquerade was beating people who were passing without giving it money. When I reached and showed the Akatakpa my ID card, it left me but the young man shouted, beat him, Semi has culture in his own community. During their youth week, I was invited to give them talk. When I went there, I saw the young man busy with activities of the youth week, he was one of the organizers. After the talk, I called him and reminded him of that day and he was ashamed of himself. Jesus is asking all of us today like Peter, Do you Love me? He is doing this for us to make right our wrong. Peter denied Jesus three times and corrected himself three times. If we leave God, we must return to him as we left him. We should bear in mind that our teachings talk more on and about us. We should mind what we teach through words and deeds and God will help us. THANKS AND HAPPY SUNDAY.