If John the apostle is considered love exemplified in a disciple, Peter was the picture of faith. He was the first one to declare who Jesus was; he was willing to step out of the boat and walk to him on the water; and he was the one who refused to turn away even when the teachings of His Lord seemed so strange. “Lord, to whom shall we go?” he states. “You have the words of eternal life.
In today’s first reading, when Peter and John exercised the power in the name of Jesus from on high, by healing a paralyzed man, the Jewish leaders became fearful for the number of disciples were growing more and more. They arrested the apostles, and brought them before the Sanhedrin for trial (the same Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus to death). This time around, Peter could not remain silent and boldly proclaimed,
“let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—Whom you crucified and Whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you – healthy. This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders. He has become the CORNERSTONE and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved.
Salvation is only found in Christ for he shed blood paid the price for the sin of all mankind. How blessed are we who have been rescued from man’s unachievable quest to save himself through Christ Jesus. He gave his life in abundance as he shares in today’s gospel, piles of fish, a wonderful breakfast prepared already and an ever enduring baskets of bread for both our physical and spiritual journey.
