Greetings online readers! A little over two weeks ago the church celebrated our Lord’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday. In those last 16 days I know there have been times where I have been mindful of the joy of the resurrection, and other times where I have simply been lost in my every day routines with little reflection on how the resurrection brings joy and gladness to our lives and to our earth.
Fortunately the readings for the season of Easter keep the resurrection right in the forefront of our focus in worship. Listen to the words of the gradual appointed for the season of Easter: “Christ has risen from the dead, God the Father has crowned Him with glory and honor, He has given him dominion over the works of his hands, he has put all things under his feet.”
This gradual reminds us how its not just that Jesus rose, once dead , now alive- but that Jesus is now crowned by the Father with the fullest of glory and honor- that Jesus now reigns over all of creation.
It is in this context that we are meant to listen to the gospel lesson of John chapter 21, what it calls the third appearance of the risen Jesus to the disciples. Jesus is appearing as He who the father has put all things under his feet. Jesus is appearing to the disciples with a promise and hope of all things being granted to the disciples as well.
Just prior to this reading we hear about Jesus appearing to the disciples with this summary statement of the whole gospel reading:
“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
And yet now the gospel is circling back to describe one more thing. The disciples are gathering together near the sea of Tiberius to go fishing. It seems they are resuming a normal everyday activity of theirs, now that a certain number of days has passed since they last saw Jesus. Peter has the idea to go fishing and the disciples present agree to go with him. It’s almost like life has returned back to normal.
They do not catch any fish that night. Sounds unusual to not catch any fish. It almost makes you wonder if there fishing drought was caused by God’s guidance. While they are out on the boat Jesus is on the shore and speaks to them about their fishing success. My study Bible suggests that people back then often directed fishing from the shore if they could see a school of fish that those in the boat could not see.
They are far enough away from the shore that they can hear Jesus, but in the beginning hours of daybreak, they don’t quite see him well enough to recognize who is talking to them. They listen to him and obey his command: “cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”
As I was reading this portion of scripture last week in preparation for Sunday I couldn’t help but feel curious about how necessary this reading is. Like I mentioned earlier, John’s gospel already talks about the previous appearances of Jesus as if they are the end of the story.
And we certainly have heard about Jesus directing the disciples to a miraculous catch of fish before. And we also have already had plenty of instances of the disciples not recognizing Jesus until he is revealed to them, at the tomb Mary mistakes the risen Jesus for the gardener until he speaks her name. On the road to Emmaus Jesus is walking and talking to the disciples about how all of what he did fulfilled the scriptures, and they do not recognize him until the breaking of the bread.
It makes you wonder how many times would Jesus need to appear before he is recognized right away? And after all of what Jesus did, after rising from the dead, what use is there in one more miracle? Almost seems a little anti climactic. And why specify 153 fish, how important is that detail in relation to the fact that Jesus rose 3 days from the grave.
Yet as I looked more closely at the reading, and heard from resources within the church I began to see how this is a reading about our response to Jesus.
Once Jesus provided them with a catch of fish that was so large that they could not pull in the net John puts two and two together that this direction about where to fish and the miraculous catch can only mean one thing: “It is the Lord!” This was a post resurrection experience that provided the disciples with an opportunity for a response of action. Peter’s response was to jump in the water and swim to shore faster than the burdened fishing boat could get back in.
When they all were on the shore the disciples dared not ask if this was Jesus, but instead, as they ate breakfast with him they accepted in faith the gift of his presence with them.
The reading specifies that the nets as burdened as they were with the large catch of fish did not tear. It seems this was an important sign in of itself. The nets didn’t tear because they were up to the task to handle more than you would expect. Just like the disciples were now shaped and fashioned by Jesus to be fishers of men.
We can remember the previous instance where Jesus led the disciples to catch fish, where he told them “from now on you will be fishers of men.” The lesson is the same here. A new level of meaning and purpose awaits the disciples now. In the verses following our reading Jesus implores Peter with the command “Feed my sheep.” This was a resurrection appearance about action.
Biblical commentaries point out that in the ancient world there was a belief that there were 153 different varieties of fish in the sea. Accordingly, 153 fish caught by the disciples as directed by Jesus could be understood to point to the fact that the disciples were destined to make disciples of all nations, leaving no fish in the sea unaccounted for.
The same power and authority in which Jesus directed the disciples to catch those fish would also be exercised by Jesus through the church as generation after generation has proclaimed His salvation to all nations.
Today things are no different. Just as Jesus prepared the charcoal fire and invited the disciples to contribute to the meal, and then dined with them – so also today Jesus prepares for us a meal of fellowship in which his body and blood unites us to Him through the Lord’s Supper.
Our everyday routines are transformed into the joyful transformation of seeing life as filled with many opportunities for proclaiming the good news of the resurrection. As Christians who live by faith in the resurrection we can’t help but be excited to speak about how Jesus changes our lives.
As individuals, we are all here to live out this resurrection story. No matter how ordinary your daily life is, through faith in the resurrection of Jesus you can live in the richness of God’s kingdom each and every day. The joy of Christ in your life can be contagious to others, evident not just through your words but through your very presence in whatever context your day brings you to.
As the church we should not overlook how fruitful with purpose Jesus makes us. Like the disciples pulling the large net of fish, we can expect a greater harvest from the church than the world expects.
The proclamation of the gospel has the power to change lives and change our world. A people living in the hope of the resurrection of Jesus has this power. May we rejoice at the presence of Jesus just as those disciples did, eating with him on the shore. May we watch for Jesus to come to us at break of day.