John's last chapter leaves us...
Illustration
John's last chapter leaves us with a beautiful scene. The disciples, led by Simon Peter,
decided to do what they knew best. They went fishing. They fished all night, and they
caught nothing. These professional fishermen used every trick they knew. Nothing
worked. At daybreak, dog-tired from a weary night that produced nothing, someone
called to them from the shore. He said, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They
shook their heads and muttered an embarrassed, "No." And the man from the shore told
them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Reluctantly, these fishermen did as
the man had suggested and the man was right. Their nets were full and running over.
They could hardly bring the fish to the surface. One of the disciples recognized the man
on the shore. It was Jesus. Simon Peter jumped from the boat and the others followed him
in the boat. Jesus had built a fire and cooked breakfast with some of the fish they had
caught.
This was a post-Easter experience. They had fished all night and caught nothing. Sometimes night fishing even for the professional produces nothing of consequence. Sometimes all our knowledge and experience and hard work just does not pay off. Sometimes the fish simply do not bite. Those who have lived long enough know the frustration and anguish of failure. Sometimes it is a job or a relationship or other things. We try and try, but nothing works. Often we simply end up exhausted. But the Easter Christ still comes to help us move beyond our failure. American Christians, who like success as much as anybody, have a difficult time with the nights when the fish do not bite. This gospel says that after failure, Christ meets us and that is enough. The power of Easter did not stop that morning when the weeping women discovered that Christ was alive. He met them on roads that led to Emmaus, behind closed doors frightened of the future. He met them after a night when nothing had worked. Still he comes, the Easter Jesus. No situation is beyond his caring and no problem is beyond God's reach.
This was a post-Easter experience. They had fished all night and caught nothing. Sometimes night fishing even for the professional produces nothing of consequence. Sometimes all our knowledge and experience and hard work just does not pay off. Sometimes the fish simply do not bite. Those who have lived long enough know the frustration and anguish of failure. Sometimes it is a job or a relationship or other things. We try and try, but nothing works. Often we simply end up exhausted. But the Easter Christ still comes to help us move beyond our failure. American Christians, who like success as much as anybody, have a difficult time with the nights when the fish do not bite. This gospel says that after failure, Christ meets us and that is enough. The power of Easter did not stop that morning when the weeping women discovered that Christ was alive. He met them on roads that led to Emmaus, behind closed doors frightened of the future. He met them after a night when nothing had worked. Still he comes, the Easter Jesus. No situation is beyond his caring and no problem is beyond God's reach.
