No Backwards Living

"Jesus said to them, 'Children, you have no fish, have you?'"~ Gospel of John

Today's Gospel is jam-packed full of meaning and challenges. Jesus appears once again to the disciples, this time meeting them as Simon Peter is attempting to live his life backwards. The Messiah did not do as was hoped, and so Peter was going back to life as he knew it before meeting Christ. He hopped in a boat and fished through the night. The result? He caught absolutely nothing.

What do we do when we are disappointed? Seeking comfort in some places leads to further disappointments. We are creatures of habit at times, and yet Christ calls us to so much more. At those moments do we hear the tender voice asking us, "Children, you have no fish, no satisfaction, in this futile seeking, have you?" We cannot go back to life as we knew it after knowing Christ. We will not have enough fish for our solo efforts. Yet with one word from Jesus, one correction--do it this way, cast the net here--there is more than enough, more, in fact, than we can ever imagine.

I watched fishermen in Bucerias one night bringing in a net of fish. The task was not easy and a crowd gathered to watch. The fishermen knew what they were doing and worked together to haul in the nets. I stood there watching and remembered this Gospel story. We are part of a community and we are to catch people by how we live our lives. We draw them in by being bright lights, by sparkling like the water we were immersed in on our baptismal day. Do we shine with joy, peace or hope for others? Do we catch enough fish in a day? Or do we simply cast the net half-heartedly and without being mindful? When we keep our eyes on the Lord, we recognize the signs of His presence faster, and like Peter we can jump into the water, without a care for our looks and forgetting that we have betrayed the Great Giver, because despite our inability to remain faithful, Jesus does. What a glorious Saviour we have!

We do not get off easily though as we see in the final exchange in this Gospel. Jesus looks into the eyes of the disciple who denied him, not once, but three times, for one of the first time since the cock crowed. What courage it took for Peter to respond three times with the affirmative answer that he loved Jesus to counterbalance his earlier denials. How often we are called to re-evaluate our lives and decisions and to stand in the Light and agree that we still love Jesus, even if on the surface, we appear to have lost sight of that.

Jesus has shown them once again that to follow him means a life of service. He has a meal of bread and fish awaiting these hardworking fishermen and now he reminds Peter that he must do the same by feeding His sheep. He warns him that this life will lead to suffering. The cost of loving is pain. Some days the journey of loving service seems beyond our capabilities. Jesus still bids us in the final words today to follow Him.

Will you?

Peace,

Suzanne