Why do children on a road trip ask "Are we there yet?” I touched on one of the reasons here last week - the journey and waiting is just too long!
But another reason may be that children don't know what the destination looks like, so they are never really sure whether or not they have arrived. Do we know what our Christian destination looks like?
Is that one of the things going on with the disciples in our scripture reading this week?
John 21. 1-14 MSG
After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea of Galilee). This is how he did it:
Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, “I’m going fishing.”
The rest of them replied, “We’re going with you.” They went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn’t recognize him. Jesus spoke to them: “Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?” They answered, “No.” He said, “Throw the net off the right side of the boat and see what happens.” They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish in it, they weren’t strong enough to pull it in.
Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Master!” When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the sea. The other disciples came in by boat for they weren’t far from land, a hundred yards or so, pulling along the net full of fish. When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with fish and bread cooking on it.
Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.” Simon Peter joined them and pulled the net to shore—153 big fish! And even with all those fish, the net didn’t rip.
Jesus said, “Breakfast is ready.” Not one of the disciples dared ask, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Master. Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.
When I read this story, I noticed that it is only when the disciples catch 153 fish, a result so bountiful that they can’t haul the net in, that one of them recognizes Jesus.
Would we recognize Jesus if we saw him? How would we recognize the Kingdom of Heaven?
Will Jesus have breakfast ready for us? On Sunday we will be Gathering at the Lord's Table, just like the disciples did in our Gospel reading. Thanks be to God!
Open our eyes Lord
Help us to see your face
Open our eyes Lord
Help us to see
- Jesse Manibusan
