It’s so good to see you children who are about to receive Holy Communion for the first time, all dressed up and excited. I’m delighted that so many members of your family are here, as well, and I hope you know that all of us – everyone here at Mass – is praying for you as you take this important step in being even more a part of our worshiping community. We have this wonderful tradition here in our parish of celebrating First Holy Communion at the regularly scheduled Sunday Masses because you are now able to join in communion with the rest of us in receiving our Lord and becoming part of the Body of Christ. Congratulations!
We all know that the Mass is a celebration of the Last Supper which occurred as Jesus and his closest disciples were observing the solemn Jewish celebration of Passover. Every time we participate in the celebration of the Eucharist, we join with our Lord and the apostles as Jesus offers us his life-giving Body and Blood to nourish us on our spiritual journey through life. Every time we come around our Lord’s Table, we reaffirm our commitment to the new and everlasting covenant that Jesus established at that Last Supper. As the Second Vatican Council proclaimed so clearly, this sacrament is the source and summit of our faith. It provides us with the strength we need to continue to believe in the God’s gift of his son and celebrates this great gift God has given us through his death and resurrection: forgiveness of our sins and the hope of eternal life.
Today, however, we hear of Jesus making breakfast for his disciples; quite different from the holy and solemn celebration of Passover. We all know how important breakfast is. Nutritionists tell us that it’s the most important meal of our day. And, you can imagine how welcome it was to Peter and his fellow disciples who had been out all night fishing. Not only were they hungry after a hard night’s work but they must have been discouraged. Our gospel passage this morning tells us that they had caught nothing that night. On top of that, they must have been distracted and confused about what had just happened to them. Their dear friend and leader, Jesus, had been crucified and had died and they had seen him in his remarkable, resurrected form. That may have been the reason why they had caught no fish. They might all have been too caught up in wondering about all of these events and what it meant to them that they couldn’t concentrate on fishing.
But then, they spot Jesus on the shore. Like all of the other sightings of the risen Lord, they didn’t realize that it was him at first. Fortunately, one of them – the disciple Jesus loved – recognized him and Peter, impetuous Peter, jumped into the water and swam to shore to be with him. Jesus has breakfast ready for them: fish roasting on a fire and bread. It sounds a lot like the multiplication of the loaves and fishes that we hear about in all of the gospel accounts, doesn’t it?
So, what is the meaning and message of this event? Why would Jesus make breakfast for his disciples? He had already been raised from the dead and had appeared to some of them and others. As we heard in last week’s gospel passage, he had appeared to his disciples twice, given them the Holy Spirit, given them the power to forgive sins and sent them to continue the work his heavenly Father had given him. Wasn’t that enough? Perhaps he appeared one more time and offered them breakfast just to assure them – and us – that he remains with us even though he has returned to the right hand of God in heaven.
As we gather around our Lord’s Table here today and celebrate in a special way with some among us who will receive our Lord in Holy Communion for the first time, I invite you to reflect on this important lesson. During this Easter Season, we celebrate with great joy the resurrection of our Lord because it gives us the hope of eternal life in heaven. But, every time we receive our Lord in Holy Communion, we are reminded that Jesus is still with us, providing us with everything we need. We don’t need to be distracted or confused; God is always here to direct us and care for us. And then, as he did with his first followers, he sends us out to continue the saving work that he accomplished in our midst.
Again, congratulations to you, our first Holy Communicants. May you continue to come around the Table of our Lord often so that you, like all of us, will receive the spiritual nourishment you need to live according to God’s commandments and continue to do what Jesus taught us all to do: proclaim the Good News of our salvation to everyone you meet!