Third Sunday of Easter

The weather is warming up; and you may have heard the story of two nuns shopping in a supermarket on a hot day. As they passed a display, one said, “Wouldn’t a cool beer be a delight?” The second nun answered, “Yes, but I wouldn't feel comfortable buying it, as the cashier probably would recognize us.” The other nun replied, “Don't worry, let me handle this,” and she picked up a six-pack.

The cashier smiled as the nuns approached. “We use the  beer for washing our hair,” the nun explained. The cashier put a bag of pretzels with the beer, smiling as he said, “The curlers are on the house.” The moral of the story: you can't fool some folks.

The word of God today takes us back to our first century. The Sanhedrin or the Jewish supreme court wants the apostles to stop proclaiming the good news. But Peter and the other disciples boldly state that they will obey God rather than the court. Peter, in faith, recognized Jesus as the way to eternal life, the truth that sets us free from falsehoods, and the life that overcomes death. The author of Acts challenges us to do the same.

The book of Revelation describes a visionary, mystical, heavenly experience in which countless creatures cry out that Jesus, the Lamb slain for us, is worthy of power and riches, wisdom and honor, glory and blessing. The author here may be asking us, do we know our purpose in life: to be in relationship with God forever: God abiding in us and we abiding in God. What an incredible gift to us.

The Gospel according to John highlights a post-resurrection experience at the Galilee shore.

Jesus tells the disciples, who had been fishing all night and caught nothing, to cast their nets again. Lo and behold, they make a huge catch. John recognizes the Lord. So too does Peter, who only recently had denied he knew Jesus but then wept bitterly and begged forgiveness for his betrayal.

Last Sunday, we met Thomas the doubter. Today we meet Peter, the spontaneous or impulsive disciple. Peter, aka Simon, appears to have had a good fishing business on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. He was uneducated but street-smart, married, left the business to become a disciple of Jesus, became the leader or rock among the disciples,betrayed Jesus, then witnessed his resurrection, shouted from the rooftops in Jerusalem that Jesus was the Messiah, worked signs and wonders, evangelized throughout the eastern Mediterranean, and eventually was martyred in Rome, probably in the 60s. Two New Testament letters are attributed to Peter.

Though Peter often appears impetuous, he always was ready to admit a mistake, to make amends. In the end, Peter became someone you could trust, a man of character. It’s been said, “The true measure of character is what you do when nobody’s watching.” Within each of us, there is a tension to choose our better or our worse self. Catholic Christianity calls this “original sin” or “the fall from grace.”

Now many try to explain why people behave the way they do. Lawrence Kohlberg, e. g., a distinguished psychologist and educator, described human behavior or moral development in three “quantum leap” stages.

The first stage is self-centered, what’s good for me: “I’ll be good, and they will reward me,” or “If I’m not good, they’ll punish me.”

The second stage is group-centered: “I’ll be loyal to the group; family, peers, and society demand that I be loyal.”

Kohlberg's final stage of development is principle or integrity centered: “I will follow my principles no matter what,” or, “I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to do the right thing.” This stage is staying true to our inner best selves. Whether you agree with this theory of moral development or not, I prefer to emphasize an informed conscience as our moral compass.

So what is conscience? It is closely associated with our feelings—we sometimes feel guilty about things we do or don’t do— but conscience is more than feelings. Conscience is a power of judgment, our moral compass, so to speak, an almost instinctive judgment about the goodness or badness of our behavior and attitudes. Our conscience is a friendly guide in our quest to be true to our inner best selves.

Leo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist/philosopher, noted there is only one important question in life: what shall we do and how shall we live? The apostle Peter would answer, “By being men and women of moral character, no matter what we do.”

Now there’s a difference between personality and character. Our personality on the surface puts us in a category: cheerful, or moody, or excitable, and so on. Character, by contrast, is singular: defines who we are, at the core of our inmost selves. Personality is emotional. Character is ethical.

Personality is neither good nor bad. Character, by definition, is either good or bad. Character manifests itself in choices each of us must make about the fundamental values or virtues by which we live.

Men and women of character strive to be true to their best selves. A person of moral character will choose the dignity of the person over impersonal business or material advantage, a respect for human beings over the lust for pleasure, power, or personal success. A person of character is willing to “go the extra mile” to do what is the better thing.

A person of character will speak up for what is right, defend what is fair, take a stand on principle and conscience—yes, an informed conscience. Even if it is to their disadvantage, even if others turn against them, persons of character will show courage and not simply “go along to get along.” They will try to choose what is true and good and right in all decisions, small and great, that affect work, career, family, relationships with others, even leisure time. They will stand for something.

And so today, the word of God invites us to be men and women of character: like Peter, who, although he failed at times, always picked himself up and started afresh to try to do the right thing.

Finally, I like to think that the quality of our life and our soul’s destiny will be measured by our character: going the extra mile to help someone in need; living up to our promises; working for the common good; trusting always in a good and compassionate God who is ever near to us and who will bring us into eternal life.