Sunday 5th May John 21:1-19
Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the sea of Tiberius and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ They replied, ‘We’ll come with you. ‘They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night.
It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something’. So, they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in. The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’ At these words ‘It is the Lord, Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak around him and jumped into the water. The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.
As soon as they came ashore, they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. Jesus said ‘Bring some of the fish you have caught. ’Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’, they knew quite well it was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.
GUIDELINES TO HELP US TO MEDITATE ON THE PASSAGE SO AS TO RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE GOD’S PRESENCE AND ACTIVITY IN OUR LIVES AND WORLD TODAY.
I’m going fishing’
Can you think of times in your life when, after a life changing event, such as a bereavement, redundancy, the break-up of a relationship, you have felt ‘lost’ even as you returned to familiar routines. In their grief, Peter and the disciples returned to the occupation they were accustomed to only to discover the Lord had come looking for them and he called them ‘friends’.
Take a few minutes to meditate on the words of the passage…let them remind us of times when the “Risen Lord”, in the guise of a good and trusted friend, has appeared in our lives when we felt lost, to help and guide us; showing us where to ‘throw out our nets’
‘Come and have breakfast’
By inviting the disciples to eat and share food Jesus shows great kindness and tenderness; by completely accepting Peter and friends for who they are – despite their failings – Jesus reassures them of his merciful and unconditional love. Thank you, Lord for the caregivers in our lives, our parents, family members and those who accept and love us just as we are – faults and all! Help us to reach out with kindness, love and acceptance to everyone we meet this week