Reflection
In today’s gospel, the grieving disciples go fishing – something they likely haven’t done since they left their nets to follow Jesus. Despite being experienced fishermen, they catch nothing. (Knowing that the emotions of grief commonly interfere with our thinking, I wonder if that was partly to blame.)
Then someone on shore addresses them as “children” and says they’re doing it wrong, instructing them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. Can you imagine the grumbling over being demeaned and then told what to do? Yet it may have been precisely what they needed to focus, as they then caught a net-full of fish. As they looked toward this wonderworker in amazement, the “disciple Jesus loved” recognized that it was the Lord who had saved them yet again.
Peter, seemingly determined to get to Jesus first, abandons the rest and swims toward shore. The others bring the boat in, probably piling out onto the sand in joy. Interestingly, when Jesus asks for fish, it’s Peter alone who drags in the overflowing net. Perhaps his friends, having been abandoned, now chose to abandon him in return, or perhaps they simply wanted their own turn with the Lord. Jesus doesn’t judge. He feeds them, loves them, and empowers them to go out as witnesses. Just as he proclaimed when he initially called them, he reminds them that they have a larger purpose in life.
Though I’ve taken some speculative license with this story, it raises multiple questions for us to prayerfully answer this week. For instance:
How often do I insist I know what I’m doing, even when it’s not working? In what areas of my life right now can I humbly admit that I can’t do it alone, and truly listen to God and others?
Do I sometimes focus so much on being in the best position or achieving my own goal that I turn my back on other people? Can I consciously step back, let go of my need to be #1, and work to collaborate with others for the good of all?
In what ways do I act out of pettiness or hurt? Can I soften my heart and refuse to respond to real or perceived slights with negativity?
To what greater purpose is God calling me in my life? How can I prioritize that call?
If you sit with this text, you’ll develop your own questions as well. Don’t skim over the surface. Throughout the Easter season, let’s see how we can become better disciples of Christ so we can witness to the ends of the earth.
