Gracious God, we thank you for your abundant love that brings us life, fills and sustains us, and calls us to loving service, connection, and relationship. May we remember this good news this day and may it enliven, inspire, and energize us, as we seek to follow where you lead. Amen.
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At the end of John’s gospel, we find the disciples are now back in Galilee, back to their familiar surroundings, and back to their occupation of fishing – the source of their livelihood.
Which brings to mind that old proverb – give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you get rid of him for the whole weekend.
Speaking of fish, did you know that tinned fish is really making a comeback on the culinary scene? Even the pope is a fan. He loves Holy Mackerel!
But I digress… guess I better scale it back and focus on the disciples…
What a whirlwind experience they have been through! After all that had transpired in Jerusalem – the devastation of Jesus’s death, the fear that his fate might be their own… and then the joy and wonder of resurrection. In John’s gospel, this good news first brought to them by Mary Magdalene and then they had their own experience of the Risen Christ in the upper room where they were hiding from the authorities – the same place where Jesus had washed their feet and shared the Passover feast with them on the night of his arrest.
Even buoyed by this good news, after the rollercoaster ride that they had been on, I can imagine it may have been hard for them to figure out what to do next. How would they regroup and find their center again? How would they carry on without their teacher at their side and continue the ministry he began?
Jesus had been preparing them all along for this phase of their journey – schooling them by example how to care, and teach, and heal, and do the work of sharing God’s love. But it would be different now. They would have to figure out what life and discipleship meant for them without Jesus there to guide them each step of the way.
We can relate to this experience, I think. Any substantive change in our life, any season of transition, any loss – these experiences bring with them a necessary process of discernment as to how we are to live on the other side of that experience. That may take time. It takes work. It takes patience. Figuring out what’s next doesn’t always happen overnight.
So, I think it is understandable that the disciples returned home to Galilee, to fishing, to what was familiar. Jerusalem had been the place of resurrection, but Galilee was where they got to know Jesus, where he reeled them into discipleship (hook, line, and sinker), where they first observed, and learned, and absorbed his teachings. So, it’s poetic that the gospel comes full circle and brings them back to the place where their journeys of discipleship began – not only because it’s a nice way to close out the story, but because it is here that their journeys of discipleship can begin again in a new way, as they begin a new chapter.
From the perspective of the gospel writer, this also serves as an invitation for our discipleship journeys to begin anew – perhaps again and again, as often as needed… it’s an invitation to which we can return at any time.
When we find ourselves swimming in circles and trying to find our center, we can return to our own metaphorical Galilee, that spiritual place where we sense God’s call upon our lives.
So, our disciples are back in the boat and out to sea. But the fishing is not going well. They catch nothing all night long – their net income was zip! It must have been frustrating!
But then, a new dawn breaks. And once again Jesus shows up. The Risen Christ appears on the horizon with the rising sun (another poetic image) and he instructs them to cast their net again. And this time they can’t even haul the net back in the boat because it’s so full.
And that’s when they recognize Jesus. All along, Jesus has brought abundance in everything he’s done – abundant healing, nourishment, grace. He has been the one who has illustrated to them time and again that God’s love is abundant – enough for them and enough to share extravagantly with others. This miraculous haul of fish is symbolic of that abundance that has been there all along.
I suspect they needed this reminder in this time of transition. Even when he would no longer be with them, Jesus’ abundant love would be there to sustain them, always pointing to the abundant love of God who gave them life.
I’d say it’s a reminder we all need from time to time. When we feel lonely, sad, yearning for hope. When we’re trying to find our way forward through a challenging situation. We all need to be reminded that God offers love enough to carry us. And when we have trouble seeing it sometimes, perhaps we ought to take a moment to look beneath the surface of the deep; to cast a net in a new direction; and remember that we have companions in the boat and Jesus cheering us on from the shore.
Once Jesus’ disciples recognize him on the beach, they are overjoyed to see him. And Peter is especially enthusiastic! His reaction is a holy humor moment. Whether he was fishing in the nude (or in his undergarments, as some translations say), he puts on his outer clothes and then jumps into the sea so he can swim to Jesus (leaving the others behind to figure out how they’ll row the boat to shore with a net full of fish in tow).
At the shore, Jesus greets them with another blessing of abundance by cooking them up a barbeque breakfast of grilled fish and bread. For them and for us, it evokes a memory of another blessing of abundance they witnessed a while back, the feeding of the five thousand.
You know, we live in a world that all too often projects the myth that there isn’t enough to go around – enough resources, enough space, enough money, enough food, enough work, enough kindness, enough of the good life for everyone.
But time after time, Jesus counters this myth of scarcity with an illustration of abundance.
Franciscan Friar Richard Rohr once wrote, “spiritually speaking, we live in a world of abundance, of infinity, but most of us walk around operating in a world of scarcity. And so, we hoard Spirit, Love, Life to ourselves. We hoard grace and we hoard mercy. We don’t allow ourselves to be conduits through which it pours into the world. Truly, the only way we can hold onto grace, mercy, love, joy – or any spiritual gift – is to give them away consciously and intentionally. If we stop acting as a conduit, we lose them ourselves.” (Adapted from Richard Rohr, “What Is Resurrection? A New Story Line,” homily, April 5, 2015)
Imagine if all humanity started behaving as if there is enough to go around? Perhaps we might find that it’s true. Being that conduit for grace and love, practicing abundance in all the ways we are able – these acts can confront, expose, and diffuse the myth of scarcity. I see it happen. I see you doing it.
Imagine… no “squid pro quo” needed! Plenty of krill (and everything else) to go around! No reason to sing the blues!
Jesus was often the life of the party, I think – the host with the most who made sure everyone was fed, filled, and nourished. There are so many stories in all of the gospels where Jesus shares meals with others. And in John’s gospel, there is one story after another of Jesus countering that myth of scarcity with a proclamation of abundance. Turning water into party wine. Providing lunch and leftovers for five-thousand. Offering the Samaritan woman at the well Living Water to quench her spiritual thirst. Raising Lazarus to new life and everyone else to new hope. Teaching his disciples that they can bear much good fruit to keep the party going, as long as they nurture their connection to the True Vine.
And here again, at the end, as he cooks them breakfast, Jesus, the life of the party, is sending them off with one more good meal and a reminder that there is always nourishment to be found when they need it.
They all need this reminder, I’m sure. We do too. When we long for spiritual nourishment – long for hope when things seem bleak, for strength and energy when we’re feeling depleted, for a different perspective when we’re feeling stuck, for grace when we’re feeling like we’ve missed the mark.
When you feel spiritually hungry, close your eyes and imagine this moment: Jesus cooking you breakfast (it doesn’t have to be fish, it could be eggs and bacon or French toast), maybe he’s wearing a “kiss the chef” apron. And remember there is love enough to feed you… and love enough to feed the world.
And hey, if you need a visual aid, I have some coloring sheets of Jesus in a “kiss the chef” apron making breakfast. They’ll be in the narthex for you to pick up on your way out (thank you, ChatGPT and Dave Winter for the assist)
After breakfast, Jesus reminds Peter of his calling. Three times Jesus asks him if he loves him. Three times Peter replies yes. And three times Jesus reiterates his call to “feed my sheep.” It’s an act of reconciliation, grace, and forgiveness for Peter’s denial. Peter’s call to discipleship is reaffirmed. And he is now going to be the one to shepherd and lead others, as Jesus (the Good Shepherd) led them.
The disciples had come full circle. Jesus, the life of the party, who had been serving up good things was now handing over an apron and spatula to them. It was their turn.
And the party continues! So, party on, party people! Eat your fill. Invite others in. Make room at the table. Serve up good things. And remember that the life of the party, the host with the most, is still with us. And there is plenty to go around!
Amen.