The Risen Lord among Us

In today’s Gospel story, John 21:1-14, Jesus reveals Himself to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. Peter and his companions have been out fishing all night long and have caught nothing.  Jesus is on the shore that morning, preparing breakfast for them.  He sees them coming to shore and asked them:  “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”  Of course, they haven’t.  He says to them:  “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.”  They follow the Lord’s direction and, yes, they land a huge catch, 153 large fish.  

Other important lessons assert themselves in this story.  Like the disciples, if we follow the Lord’s instructions, if the Lord intervenes on our behalf—and He always does—we will be shown the power of the Risen Lord, who walks among us, goes before us, and anticipates our needs. If we are open to being directed and if will set our pride aside-- letting go of “That won’t work; there are no ‘fish’ there. We know, we are the professional fishermen here--we will experience the Lord’s generosity, His care and concern. He will provide, and always does provide, for us abundantly. We will only know that if we act in humility, exercise our faith and our trust and, at times, try what we have not tried before.  Sometimes, we are called upon to do that which seems foolish, as casting on the other side of the boat must have sounded crazy to Peter and his companions that morning.

As you read this story, also notice that, at first, the disciples do not recognize that the man on the seashore is Jesus. After following his lead and catching a huge number of fish, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (no name is given, as that disciple is you and me), says to Peter: “It is the Lord.”  Many times we need others to show us God at work in our lives, as we may be too close to the situation and/or too busy frantically working at a task that we do not see beyond what is most obvious to others.