The chapter begins with an introduction saying Jesus revealed himself again by the sea of Tiberias. “After these things, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself this way.”
The key word here is reveal. It is repeated twice. The one doing the revealing was Jesus.
Jesus is the only one who can reveal himself to us. By ourselves, we cannot know him. He must reveal himself.
The main point is Jesus wants to reveal himself to us. The question is: how do I respond to his revelation? Do I just brush him aside and go on doing my own thing? Or do I accept him at his word and seek him?
Fruitless without Jesus
Seven disciples led by Peter were together. Peter said he was going fishing. The others joined him. John mentioned Peter on top of the list. This shows Peter in a leadership role in the community. They spent the whole night fishing and they caught nothing. Peter, an experienced fisherman, knew the best time to fish was in the evening, yet, he caught nothing.
In the morning, Jesus was on the beach but the disciples did not know it was him. Jesus asked them if they caught anything. He called them “children”. To Jesus, they were children in their new faith and they had to grow in their faith. They were also, children of God. As God, Jesus was claiming them as his own. They belonged to him.
Lord, many times, I have done things on my own. I have sought my own desires. In these, I have nothing to show. It is only in acknowledging you that I can truly bear fruit. Lord God, come to my life. Let me bear fruit for you - for the glory of the Father. |
Abundance!
Jesus told them to cast the net to the right side of the boat so they could catch fish. They obeyed, and now they caught a lot! They were not able to draw the catch in!
Several things need to be pointed out. Peter was a fisherman by trade, so were the two sons of Zebedee. They knew the best time to fish was in the evening. But despite their expertise, they could not catch anything. In the morning, when it was not the best time to fish, they just threw their nets carelessly at the word of Jesus, and they made a huge catch.
Two miracles happened here. The first was there was no fish in the evening when there should have been. The second was there was fish when there should not have been.
What does this mean?
God is full of surprises. It is a miracle even when we do not catch anything!
| Lord, when I do not succeed despite my best efforts, let me know you are still there. Let me see your hand in my failures. Let me trust you through those failures. Let me allow you to lead me to deeper knowledge of you. This is all I need, this is all I want. |
In life, even if we are experts and skilled at something, we will not be fruitful without Jesus. John 15 says Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. If we do not remain in him, we will not bear fruit. To remain in Jesus is to obey, even if it does not make sense.
We should not trust in our own skills but instead, use our skills in union with God. The disciples had to use their skills with the net to still make the catch. The difference was in the evening, Jesus was not there.
Superabundance!
God gave us skills so we can use them for his glory. He tells us when AND where to use it.
In this case, he told the disciples to cast the net at the right side of the boat. We have to use our skills with Jesus; otherwise, we will not be able to fulfill what God had planned for us. We may succeed, but will always fall short of what God has planned for us.
Blessed Mother Teresa said “I am not called to be successful. I am called to be faithful”. We were not created to be successful. We were created to be glorious and great before God! This is achieved ONLY through faithfulness to God.
Of course God wants us to be successful! What parent would not want that for their children? But he wants more than that. He wants us to be great AND glorious, to enjoy the fullness of life!
This is why the catch was so much the disciples could not haul it in! God did not want them to catch a pittance. He wanted them to catch a lot - in superabundance! God gives, and gives, and gives! He wants to give us a life that is full - and he still wants to fill it up to overflowing!
He is a superabundant God! His word ALWAYS brings superabundance!
| How often Lord, have I gone my way, thinking it is what is best, without realizing you have planned the best for me. You want me to have a full and superabundant life! I want that life Lord! Let me use my skills and talents WITH you. Let me use these for your glory. Teach me to remain in you Lord Jesus so I may give glory to your Father. |
Going to Jesus
When they had the catch, the beloved disciple knew it was Jesus and said that to Peter. When Peter was told it was Jesus, he wrapped his clothes and jumped into the water. I find this statement interesting. Why would someone put on his clothes to swim? Peter was naked, yet he put on his clothes so he could jump into the water.
This brings us back to the garden. The man and woman were naked and had to clothe themselves after they sinned. By doing so, Peter showed he was sinful. He had not heard Jesus' forgiveness yet.
Peter threw himself to the water as a sign of baptism. When he came up to the shore, you would expect him to be soaking wet. The author did not mention this. What he mentioned was when they came to the shore, they saw coal, bread and fish. The first thing Jesus told them was to bring some fish. Jesus had prepared some food. Yet, he asked them to bring some more fish.
God always has to prepare things for us so we can join him. Everything is God's initiative. But he wants us to be involved in his work.
Jesus could have prepared a meal for all of them, which he did, but he still asked them to bring what they caught.
| Lord, in doing your work, let me wait for you to prepare things before I respond. Let me not go ahead of you. Let me follow you and wait for your leading. Lord, without you, I can do nothing. |
Working with God
Peter dragged the net and brought the catch to Jesus. Even though there were a lot of fish, the net was not torn.
God can work without us. He created the universe without us! But he wants us to participate in his saving work. We bring to him whatever he has made us catch. He prepares everything for us, but this does not mean there will be no difficulties. The disciples had to pull up the net from the water and drag it to the land. Peter had to drag the heavy net with fish so he could bring some to Jesus.
When Jesus told the disciples to bring some of the fish, John described what Peter did. He went up (presumably to the boat), drew the net to the land. Did he do this by himself with a net of more than one hundred fish? I don't think so. He needed the help of the disciples on the boat.
What does this mean? The command to bring some fish was to the disciples, but the focus was only on what Peter did. This shows Peter as the main character in this scene. Why not! He was the leader of the disciples. As such, he was the leader of the Church.
The net was heavy, yet it was not torn. The Church will have a lot of stress but it will never break. In Matthew's version of the gospel, Jesus said to Peter, “I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” There will be problems from outside and inside the Church, but these will never prevail. It will never destroy the Church because Jesus said so.
| Lord, you gave us your Church, with Peter as her head. Bless your Church. Bless our Pope so he may bring more people to know you. May he find courage and strength in you, for the glory of the Father. Bless our bishops and pastors. May they be truthful to your word. May they unite themselves to Peter on whom you built your Church. |
Knowing Jesus
Throughout all their encounters with Jesus, the disciples did not recognize him, but they knew it was him.
This is an interesting fact recorded in all the versions of the gospel. It seems that after the resurrection, people did not recognize Jesus but still knew it was him.
In our life, we will know Jesus but will not be able to recognize him. We know he is working. We know he is moving. But we will still not recognize him - because it will be too marvelous for us to believe.
| Lord, you did awesome things we did not expect. And you continue to do awesome things we will never expect! |
John says this was the third time Jesus was revealed. The word used again is “revealed”.
Loving Jesus
After breakfast, Jesus asked Peter three questions; twice if he loved him unconditionally (the Greek word used comes from the word agape, meaning, to love unconditionally) and the last time if he had affection for him (the Greek word used comes from the word phileo, meaning, to love as a brother).
Agape is a love that is willed. It is an unconditional acceptance of a person. This is a decision. This is love for enemies.
Phileo is a narrower scope of love. It is more emotional. It is love for people who love us - like a love for brothers.
In those three times, Peter's response was he phileo Jesus - he loved Jesus as a brother. Peter could not admit he loved Jesus unconditionally. He knew he was weak and could fail just as he did before.
Three times Peter denied Jesus, three times Jesus allowed Peter to set things straight - and Peter did by admitting his weakness.
Lord, you are good. You accept me as I am. You love me for my weakness. Let me respond to you by acknowledging my weakness and return that love to you.
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Jesus did not hold that against Peter. He accepted Peter in his weakness. Every time Peter responded, Jesus entrusted the Church to him. Jesus does not demand that we become perfect immediately. He knows we are dust and he knows we will fail. But he accepts us where we are and from there, picks us up and leads us to perfection.
Follow Jesus
After this, Jesus told Peter to follow him. We are all called to follow Jesus whatever our state is. This is difficult because we will be led to where we do not want to go. This is part of being a disciple of Jesus. We will not be in control. Instead, we will be following where Jesus leads us. We will be followers rather than masters of our own destiny. Yet, by following Jesus, we reach the destiny he has planned for us - to be masters of all creation with him!
When Peter turned, he saw the Beloved Disciple following them. Peter asked Jesus about the disciple. Jesus told him quite bluntly, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.” What Jesus does with the disciple was none of Peter's business. His business was to follow Jesus.
Our goal is to live a life with Jesus. How he deals with others is none of our business. For us, we follow Jesus the way he calls us.
Follow Jesus even if it does not make sense. Follow Jesus even if it is painful. Follow Jesus even if you are afraid. God is faithful. He will lead you through all difficulties. God is a God of victory. Be convinced of what Jesus said. Act on what he said and follow him. Believe to live!
This is the only way to victory. This is the only way to life!
Lord Jesus, you are the Son of the Living God. You have the words of eternal life, to whom should I go. I believe you are the Holy One of God. I surrender my life to you. Take, Lord. Receive. I give you permission to do with it as you wish. Transform it and may it be a sacrifice of praise, holy and pleasing to you. Lead me to the life you have planned for me - to a life of victory; a life of glory with the Father. I want that life. Through difficulties and sufferings, I know you are with me - to lead me through. Be my strength and refuge O Lord. Come Lord Jesus. Be the Lord of my life. I want to follow you. For me, it does not matter where I go as long as I know I am following you. This is enough for me Lord. Holy Spirit, come. Breathe in me and unleash your power in my life. I want to live for Jesus, for the glory of the Father. Mary, my Mother, pray for me. Lead me to your Son, Jesus Christ my Lord! Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen! |
