Sunday, April 08, 2018

Choosing to be LIght & Blessing in this World

John 21:1-14 by Rev. David L.S. Robertson
Series:What We Believe as Followers of the Way of Jesus

Come and have breakfast. It’s a beautiful invitation to a bunch of young fishermen who spent the night catching nothing and then, after following a rather quizzical instruction to fish on the other side of the boat, end up catching a net full of fish. It must have taken lots of hard work to pull that catch in not to mention their amazement that the net didn’t break. I wonder how many fish that net could hold—153 apparently. Any fisherman would want to know. A disappointing night, an amazing morning catch and now a simple, satisfying breakfast of fish and bread on the shore of the sea of Tiberius—AKA the sea of Galilee. There is an echo in this story that takes us back to a much larger event involving fish and bread—you might remember the story of feeding the multitudes with loaves and fishes. While no one can really know for sure, I wouldn’t be surprised if that meal didn’t happen just a few paces away from this intimate breakfast over a charcoal fire. Again, just like feeding the 5,000, this is a story of holy presence, provision, and promise. Again, it’s on the beach by the waters of the Sea of Tiberius. The narrative is so plain speaking. After these things… says the first verse of John 21, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberius. I assume the disciples are trying to establish some kind of new normal in their lives. They go back to what they know best… fishing. But it’s not quite normal. Their lives have been changed. They pass the night in the doldrums, but at the day’s new light they find themselves in the presence of the resurrected Jesus surrounded by abundance. They are in orbit around the holy presence of God made known in the risen Christ. They are slow to realize this, but once the penny drops they recognize it and eventually, they trust it.
Duration:20 mins 4 secs