Lectionary 48:

Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41

Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13

Rev 5:11-14

John 21:1-19 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050519.cfm

Possible preaching themes:

• Gospel: Jesus’s two words 2,000 years ago echo to us today: “Follow me.” What does this mean? What are the contributions of the psychology of following and of leadership
• Gospel: At the end of this Gospel we return to almost the beginning of the first Gospel, to the seashore with fishermen (Mark 1:16) . Why is this significant? Is there something about the psychology of the seashore or the psychology of fishing at work here?
• Acts: The courage and “rejoicing” of the Apostles in the face of punishment and possible martyrdom

Possible scientific resources

• Following and leadership:
  • The Science Behind Why People Follow the Crowd https://blogs.cornell.edu/info2040/2019/11/24/reasons-behind-why-people-follow-the-crowd/
  • Why people follow the leader https://hbr.org/2004/09/why-people-follow-the-leader-the-power-of-transference?utm_source=pocket_mylist
  • Why People Follow Influencers https://displaypurposes.com/blog/why-people-follow-influencers-what-makes-people-follow-you/?utm_source=pocket_mylist
  • The New Psychology of Leadership https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-psychology-of-leadership-2007-08/
• Psychological impact of the seashore, beaches and fishing
  • The psychology of the beach https://morrispsych.com/the-psychology-of-the-beach-by-dr-kenneth-freundlich/
  • How the beach benefits your brain https://www.inc.com/anne-gherini/how-beach-benefits-your-brain-according-to-science.html
  • How the bread can change our brains and mental health https://www.lifehack.org/408837/science-explains-how-the-beach-can-change-our-brains-and-mental-health
  • Why fishing is good for your mental health https://notsealed.com/psychology-of-fishing-and-why-it-is-good-for-your-health.html
  • One psychologist writes a book on the psychology of fishing https://keokeebooks.com/products-page/flyfishing-and-running/pavlovs-trout-the-incomplete-psychology-of-fishing/

Homily outline on “Follow me”

• Introduction: What is Jesus saying?
  • We seem to have come full circle. At the end of John’s Gospel, the last gospel, we find ourselves at the very beginning of the first gospel, Mark (1:16):at the seashore, with men fishing.
• And Jesus’s final words in this passage echo exactly some of his first words in the Markan gospel and the first chapter of this Gospel: “Follow me”  (1:17)
• In these weeks after Easter, it may sound like he is stating the obvious and that the author is framing this gospel this way to drive home a central message of discipleship.
• But maybe there is more to those two words. What is Christ actually asking his disciples, and us in turn, to do?
• What it does it mean to follow?

• The Science: Leadership and Why We Follow
  • “Follow me” is a mantra on social media today. On Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, influence and importance is often measured by how many “followers” someone has.
  • Among various theories, social media experts cite two key reasons why they believe we follow people online:
    • We want to achieve what they have achieved. We see their lives or their work as aspirational and we want to be like them.
    • We like their personal traits and find them appealing. We are attracted to who they are and what they represent.
    • (https://displaypurposes.com/blog/why-people-follow-influencers-what-makes-people-follow-you/?utm_source=pocket_mylist)
  • Psychologists have long known that we are social creatures. We need to band together. We need one another to survive and thrive — and to continue a way of life, profess what we value, pass on what we believe.) https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-bandwagon-effect-2795895

• The Power of Leadership
  • This explains our human hunger to follow — but the act of following also demands that we actually have someone to follow. A leader.
  • Management experts and psychologists like to draw up lists of various qualities people look for in leaders — integrity, empathy, courage. But one list mentioned something unexpected: service. The good leader has the ability to serve others. https://nlctb.org/tips/7-traits-of-emotionally-intelligent-leaders/
  • Recent research suggests that an important quality of a leader is his or her ability to build followers through the power of words, especially in defining social identity. A Scientific American study found that for leadership to function well, leaders and followers must be bound by a shared identity and by the quest to use that identity as a blueprint for action. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-psychology-of-leadership-2007-08/
  • But what does all this tell us about being followers of Jesus Christ? What does this tell us about discipleship?

• The Takeaway: Christ’s Bold Message for Us Today
  • These notions of following and leadership resonate with us in one way or another because they also hold true for following Jesus Christ.
    • Christian discipleship calls out to us to follow a singular figure of integrity, courage, and purpose.
    • For 20 centuries, people have been drawn to this figure for his message of mercy, compassion, justice, and love.
    • But that is just the beginning.
  • To be a follower of Christ demands even more. Commitment. Sacrifice. Surrender. Maybe even martyrdom.
  • What type of followers does Jesus seek? Authentic, dedicated, passionate.
  • Christ’s invitation — “Follow me” — transcends simple psychology or patterns of human behavior. It goes beyond the easy temptations, clicks and links of social media. It is about following more than person, but following a call to live differently, act differently, interact differently. It is nothing less than a call to conversion of life and heart.