Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year C

This Sunday marks a turning-point. The cardinals have been meeting already

in Rome, discussing the state of the world and the Church, and what sort of

Pope we need to take us forward, but it is on Sunday that the nine days of

mourning after Pope Francis’ funeral come to an end, and then we have the

start of the actual conclave. I hope I won’t disappoint you by saying that I

don’t have any secret spies in Rome to tell you what has been discussed away

from the eye of the media. What I can tell you, though, is that one of the big

themes running through today’s readings is that of obeying God’s will – and

that’s exactly what we need in a new Pope.

The disciples are by the Sea of Tiberias, also called the Sea of Galilee. That’s

your first hint that they are obeying the will of the Lord. Matthew 28:7: the

angel said to the women: “he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see

him”. So the disciples have gone. There is no pre-agreed code as to how they

will recognise Him. But the pattern repeats. They fish all night long and catch

nothing. Then Someone appears, and a miraculous catch of fish takes place.

With the Lord around, things fall into place. Who will the next Pope be? Will

it be someone we expect, or a complete surprise? Will it be a quick election, or

long and drawn out? Whatever happens, the Lord is around, and he is in

control, using imperfect human beings to direct the course of history.

In the first reading, the Apostles are brought before the high priest and given,

not only a right telling off, but also a physical beating as well. Being Pope, no

doubt, can be a gruelling ordeal at times, an uphill battle, and there must be

times when it would be so much easier just to give in. Peter and the Apostles

replied, “We must obey God rather than men”. Being the Pope is not about

being popular. Sometimes, certain decisions might bring a degree of popularity

among particular sections of society, but being faithful to the Lord can mean

saying some jolly unpopular things at times, and even to those within the

Church. Pope St Paul VI was not a bold extravert. After Vatican II said, in

general terms, no to the contraception issue, he had to then pray and discern the

way forward, following the reports by the papal commission into some of the

more detailed questions. The majority report, it turned out, had vested

interests, and it was in the minority report where the truth was to be found. But

it wasn’t going to be a comfortable truth. He released Humanae Vitae during

the summer, back in the good old days when people didn’t have the internet and

when they went on holiday they had more limited access to the news. But the

backlash in the West meant that the Pope was so broken by it that he never

released another similar teaching document to the day of his death. Pope

Francis re-affirmed the teaching on the fiftieth anniversary in 2017. But this

time, there was no big media hu-ha. Pope Francis is supposed to be a liberal,

they might have thought, so let’s keep it that way.

Lastly, in the second reading, is the vision of John, seeing the whole of creation

worshipping the risen Christ, the Lamb who was slain. That is the master-plan;

that is what we are all called to bring about, with the Pope as a chief

protagonist. It seems from the Gospel that, in order for God’s grace to flow,

and for us to make that big catch of fish, we have to do His will. If we try and

do things our own way, we will end up fishing all night with nothing to show

for it.

So who will be the next Pope? Only the Lord knows. This time next week, we

might know, or we might not. What we do know, though, is the need to pray, to

ask the Holy Spirit to guide the cardinals to know and do God’s will. As for the

rest, we just have to wait and see!

Curious about exploring things further?  If you would like to ask further questions about the topics raised in these homilies (or maybe think it wasn’t explained too well!), please feel free to e-mail Fr Michael at stjoseph.thame@rcaob.org.uk