When fishermen set sail, Deacon Marlowe Sabater says, they place one foot on the deck—and the other, unknowingly, “in the watery grave, because you just won’t know what’s gonna happen out there.” Born and raised in Metro Manila, Marlowe now ministers to seafarers and port workers—many of them migrant workers from his native Philippines—through the Diocese of Honolulu’s Apostleship of the Sea ministry. Facing unpredictable storms and countless dangers at sea, every safe return to shore, he says, is “an everyday miracle.”
Marlowe is our guest on “Preach” for the Third Sunday of Easter. In his homily, he reflects on the Gospel story of the risen Christ meeting his disciples on the shore and connects it to the faith of those who work and live at sea today. In conversation with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., Marlowe draws even further from his ministry—meeting workers at the docks to pray with them, to minister to them and to share the trust that sustains us all amid life’s storms: “When Jesus is in our boat, he has the capability of calming the storm of our lives.”
When he’s not at the ambo, on the docks or behind a desk, Marlowe finds his anchor in family life with his wife, Maggie, and their two sons. He credits Maggie as his “editor in chief,” offering the honest feedback every preacher needs. “Sometimes she’ll read my homily and say, ‘I don’t feel it,’” he says. “And it’s back to the drawing board—and she’s always right.”
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Scripture Readings for the Third Sunday of Easter
First Reading: Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
Second Reading: Rev 5:11-14
Gospel: Jn 21:1-19
You can find the full text of the readings here.
A Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter by Marlowe Sabater
The Easter season takes us to various places, from the mouth of Jesus’ tomb on Easter Day to the Upper Room last Sunday. On this third Sunday of Easter, the Gospel takes us to the Sea of Tiberius, where Jesus appeared to the disciples for the third time. This time, Jesus met the disciples in their place of work, unlike his appearance in the Upper Room, where the disciples were cowering in fear. Today, they sought a sense of normalcy in their lives and returned to what they knew: fishing.
As members of Pacific Island communities, we can relate to this. Here in Hawaii, we are a melting pot of diverse cultures and fish holds strong cultural significance. There is a strong demand for red fish during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. During the Lenten season and Holy Week, fish is the go-to protein for fish fry as we observe fasting and abstinence. If you drive around different neighborhoods, you will see boats parked in yards, fishing poles hanging in garages and coolers in the backs of trucks. Fishing is part of our everyday life. While we might not physically go fishing ourselves, we love to eat fish.
In Jesus’ time, fishing was a common and noble profession. It was a booming industry because fishermen catered to the needs of not only the local Jewish community, but also the Greeks and Romans. Fish is a relatively inexpensive source of protein and processed fish products added value when sold to the upper class. Fishing from boats required significant investments: Simon and his brother Andrew partnered with their cousins, James and John, sons of Zebedee, to undertake this enterprise. This was the trade they were familiar with. Part of their everyday life, the ocean was their workplace.
It had been weeks since they witnessed the torture and death of their beloved teacher, master and friend, Jesus. It was a traumatic experience for them. Several days had passed since they saw the risen Jesus in the Upper Room. It had been an emotional rollercoaster, and they were likely asking each other, “So what now?” It was natural for them to seek a return to normalcy in their daily routines.
Those who have lost loved ones can probably relate to their situation after a traumatic experience, such as a death in the family. There is often a strong urge to find normalcy by returning to familiar routines. However, their lives were not going back to the status quo. Once they had Jesus in their lives, they could expect extraordinary things to happen in their daily routines.
Fishing, although ordinary for them, became extraordinary when Jesus, whom they did not recognize, allowed them to catch 153 large fish in shallow waters during daytime. As a fishery scientist and manager, I can tell you that catching such a large number of fish in shallow waters during the day is not typical. Fishermen can confirm this.
Once this miracle occurred, the beloved disciple immediately recognized it as the work of the resurrection, which has a way of making our mundane lives extraordinary. This happens when we recognize the presence of the risen Christ in our lives.
Jesus instructed Peter and the others to cast their nets on the right side of the boat, even though they were only a hundred yards from shore. Notably, the disciples did not resist the instructions from the stranger on the shore. They simply followed. If this happened today, Jesus might have been met with skepticism.
Jesus invites us to listen and trust in him. When we wake up in the morning, we should open ourselves up to him and await his guidance through prayer. The fact that we wake up each day from our temporary death is already a miracle. We open our eyes to the wonders of his grace. Sharing a meal with family and discussing our day is a simple blessing that brings us joy. Being able to catch fish from his abundant creation and return safely to port is extraordinary, considering the many things that can go wrong while we are out at sea.
The resurrection is also a call to share a meal with Jesus. In the Gospel, Jesus prepared breakfast for the disciples. It wasn’t a typical meal of scrambled eggs with spam, Portuguese sausage and buttermilk pancake on the side. It was bread and fish on a charcoal fire. Despite having bread and fish ready, Jesus still asked Peter to bring some of the fish they had just caught. This illustrates that while the grace of Jesus is always present, we are also invited to bring the grace we have received to the table so that others can partake in it. This captures the spiritual dynamics: When we are at the table with Jesus Christ, grace flows from the banquet and we are asked to contribute a part of ourselves and the graces we have received as well.
This concept is particularly true in our island culture. When we attend a gathering, regardless of how hard we may emphasize that guests shouldn’t bring anything, they still bring something, because the idea is not what you bring, but the spirit of what you share. That is the spirit of aloha—Christ’s aloha.
Lastly, the resurrection calls us to discipleship. Consider the rehabilitation of Peter, whose threefold confession of love counterbalances his threefold denial of Jesus during his passion. With this confession of love comes the commissioning to feed and tend to Jesus’ flock brothers and sisters. If we profess our love for the Lord, we have an inherent duty to love everything and everyone he loves.
We are all called to love our neighbors, especially those who are oppressed, marginalized, and often invisible to society, such as seafarers for our fishermen. We are called to love God’s creation. By being responsible stewards of our fishing resources for our congregation, we must look beyond the walls of our parish and engage with social issues, actively working to address them. Our participation in the mass, where we receive guidance from Christ through the liturgy of the word and partake in Christ’s meal through the Holy Eucharist, commissions us to go out into the world and minister to Christ’s flock.
Pope Francis is a model of how we ought to minister to Christ’s flock. He encourages all of us to serve those on the margins, the vulnerable: immigrants, refugees, the poor, the victims of unjust war and violence. The risen Christ has touched our lives in significant ways, and as a result, we have received the joy that comes from his resurrection.
The resurrection is at the heart of the Gospel message. And this joy drives Pope Francis’ ministry in his apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium” or “The Joy of the Gospel.” He beautifully expresses the joy of the Gospel, fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. This joy is not meant to be contained; it is a vibrant force that seeks to reach out and uplift others. So on this third Sunday of Easter, in the jubilee year of hope, we rejoice in Christ’s resurrection, which fills us with hope.
As we continue our earthly pilgrimage towards God’s promise of eternal life, let us open our eyes to see how Jesus makes our lives extraordinary through the graces of his resurrection. In doing so, let us respond to the call of discipleship by sharing these graces with others who have yet to recognize Christ’s presence in their lives.
