The gospel scene vividly portrays many truths hidden within what is for me a dramatic, almost comedic post-resurrection story.
I imagine Peter and other disciples laboring throughout a hot, steamy night on the Sea of Tiberias, only to come up empty. No fish for all that work. Tired and hungry, they give up and approach the shore. How will they feed their families today? It is dawn.
A figure standing on the shore calls out: ”Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
“No.”
“Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.”
I imagine they are desperate enough to heed the words of this stranger. They reverse course and follow his advice. You know the rest. So many fish they are unable to haul in the net.
The disciple whom Jesus loved then recognizes the stranger. “It is the Lord!” he cries.
Peter, always the impulsive one, hurls his heart out ahead of him and jumps into the water, without thought of proper clothing or decorum or safety, his only goal to be with Jesus. There are no barriers.
Not only does Jesus direct the disciples to their abundant catch, he calmly feeds them as he has so often before his death and resurrection. I see him greeting Peter and the rest with a twinkle in his eye and perhaps a little smile, as he dishes up the fish and bread.
Can we follow our hearts to recognize Jesus in the stranger? Does it take love to reveal the truth? Can we hear what he is telling us? Can we trust we will be fed?
Suzanne Braddock
Creighton University and I are old friends, first as a medical resident in a program shared with The University of Nebraska then forty plus years as a parishioner at St John’s, the campus church. Now retired from a gratifying but busy medical practice I enjoy the quiet hours and nature.
Writing these reflections is a challenge and a grace, bringing me closer to the meaning of the Scriptures and the love God wants us to understand.
