3rd Sunday of Easter, Cycle B, April 19, 2015

You’ve heard of the Loch Ness Monster, the huge fish that reportedly lives at the bottom of an ocean inlet off the coast of Scotland. Few people have actually claimed to have seen the monster, although stories about it having been floating around for centuries.

The ancient Hebrews also told stories about a sea monster. They called it by the name “Leviathan”. The Old Testament mentions this Leviathan in several different places. For example, the prophet Isaiah proclaims God’s power over evil by predicting “On that day, the Lord will punish with his sword that is cruel, great and strong, Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the coiled serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” (Isaiah 27:1)

Isaiah is talking about the end of the world, when God will establish the kingdom. God will destroy evil, which is symbolized by this monster, Leviathan.

Another image that the Scriptures use to describe God’s kingdom is the image of a banquet, a feast, a big party where there is plenty to eat and drink. In line with this, Isaiah predicts: “The Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples, a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” (Isaiah 25:6)

And what would be the main dish served at this banquet? Later tradition combined the image of God’s Kingdom as a banquet, and the image of God killing the Leviathan, to come up with the perfect menu: the Leviathan destroyed by God would be grilled and served up as the main dish.

At one time, people used to call Catholics by the nickname “fish-eaters.” This nickname referred to the custom of abstaining from meat on Fridays, and consequently eating fish instead. We still observe this custom during Lent, although during the rest of the year it has fallen by the wayside. But still, at least during Lent, we Catholics are fish-eaters. And perhaps, we can see in that custom a foretaste of the banquet of heaven, where God will serve up the Leviathan as the main dish

All this ties in to the incident described in today’s gospel reading. Jesus appears to the disciples and eats a piece of fish with them. He does so partly in order to assure them that he is not a ghost, that he is truly alive, risen from the dead. But he is also sharing a meal with them. He is becoming closer to his disciples in that very human and simple way that also happens whenever we share a meal with our families and friends.

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. In the words of St. Paul, he has triumphed over sin and death. Unfortunately, we too often see evidence of sin and death still with us. Consider, for example, the Christians who were tossed into the Mediterranean Sea to drown as they were crossing over from Africa. Or, consider the 150 persons who were killed when their plane was deliberately crushed into the French Alps. Or, think of all the atrocities being committed by ISIS. Sin and death is still with us in our world. But not forever.

We believe that Christ will return in glory, and establish his kingdom. He will complete his victory over sin and death, the victory he began in his resurrection. Following the imagery of Isaiah, he will destroy Leviathan, all the monsters that plague our world; the monsters of hatred, greed and violence. He will provide for us the banquet of heaven.

The Holy Communion that we receive now gives us a foretaste of that heavenly banquet. We share a meal with the risen Christ, who encourages us and gives us hope.

(The children receiving their First Communion today join us in that meal with the risen Christ. It is their first taste of many yet to come, as they await his appearance in glory.)