Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 21, 1-14

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We also will come with you.”
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him, “No.”
So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something.”
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.

It is the Lord!

1) I am going fishing. We see Peter as a beaten, defeated apostle, who feels miserable, heartbroken, and disappointed. He seeks to clear his mind because he feels troubled. And in this absence of peace, there is division: not all the apostles are there. This is what often happens to us, when we feel we have failed, we feel depressed and fragmented. In the face of failure, even families break apart and become divided and everyone points to different sides. Division is often brought about by lack of peace.

2) Cast the net. Jesus points out, shows, indicates. He knows about failure; even about that particular failure in what the apostles were experts at: fishing.  They must have felt it was one of those moments when not a single thing goes right. Only then do they see and recognize Jesus. How often does everything come out wrong? It seems everything is against you and on top of all that, God asks you for more. That’s when you’ll see and recognize Jesus in your life.

3) He is the Lord. Peter recognizes Jesus and he goes towards him. How nice it is to jump into ‘something’ to meet the Lord. Jump into the sea and go to the Lord! Don’t wait any longer. If you have heard his voice, go to him! He’s waiting for you and wants to share time and your life. Today the risen Christ asks you to give him your heart. Go for it, He is waiting for you.

God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And don’t forget that something good is on the way!