The Apostles at the sea on this occasion were Simon Peter, who as usual is mentioned first; next to him, however, is mentioned Thomas, who now after confessing that Christ was the Lord and God remained near to him who was called to be the chief of the Apostles. Nathanael of Cana in Galilee was also there; so were James and John and two other disciples. It is noteworthy that John, who once had a boat of his own, was now in the bark of Peter. Peter, taking the leadership and giving the inspiration to others, said:
I am going out fishing. We will go with you, said the others. - John 21:3 -
Though they had labored all the night, they caught nothing. When morning came they saw Our Lord Jesus Christ on the shore, but they did not know that it was He. This was the third time that He came near to them as One Unknown in order to draw out their affections. Though they were near enough to the shore to address Him, like the disciples at Emmaus they neither discerned His Person nor recognized His voice, so enveloped was the Risen Body with glory. He was on the shore and they were on the sea. Our Lord spoke to them, saying:
Friends, have you caught anything? They answered No. He said, Shoot the net to starboard, and you will make a catch. - John 21:5-6 -
The Apostles must have remembered another such command when Our Lord told them to let down their nets for a draught, not specifying right or left. The Our Lord was in the boat, now He was on the shore. The tossing of life were over. Immediately, in obedience to the Divine command, they were so successful in their catch that they were unable to draw the nets because of the multitude of fishes. In the first miracle of the catch of fishes during the public life the nets broke; Peter, awed by the miracle, asked Our Lord to depart from him because he was a sinful man. The very abundance of God's mercy made him feel his nothingness. But in this miraculous draught of fishes they were made strong; for immediately John said to Peter:
It is the Lord! - John 21:7 -
Both Peter and John remained true to their characters; as John was the first to reach the empty tomb on Easter morning, so Peter was the first to enter it; as John was the first to believe that Christ was risen, so Peter was the first to greet the Risen Christ; as John was the first to see the Lord from the boat, so Peter was the first to rush to the Lord, plunging into the sea to be first at His feet. Naked as he was in the boat, he cast a coat about him, forgot personal comfort, abandoned human companionship, and eagerly swam the hundred yards to the Master. John had the greater spiritual discernment, Peter the quicker action. It was John who leaned on the Master's breast the night of the Last Supper; he was the one, too, who was nearest the Cross, and to his care the Savior committed His mother; so now he was the first to recognize the Risen Savior on the shore. Once before, when Our Savior had walked on the waves towards the ship, Peter could not wait for the Master to come to him, as he asked the Master to bid him come upon the water. Now he swam to shore after girding himself out of reverence for His Savior.
The other six remained in the boat. When they came to shore, they saw fire, fish laid thereon, and some bread, which the compassionate Savior had prepared for them. The Son of God was preparing a meal for His poor fishermen; it must have reminded them of the bread and fishes He had multiplied when He had announced Himself as the Bread of Life. After they had dragged the net ashore and counted the one hundred and fifty-three fish they had caught, they were well convinced that it was the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostles understood that, as He had called them to be fishers of men, so this great catch symbolized the faithful who would ultimately be brought to the bark of Peter.
At the beginning of His public life, on the banks of the Jordan, Christ had been pointed out to them as the "Lamb of God"; now that He was about to leave them, He applied this title to those who were to believe in Him. He who called Himself the Good Shepherd now gave to others the power to be shepherds. The following scene took place after they had dined. As He gave the Eucharist after the supper and the power to forgive sins after He had eaten with them, so now, after partaking of bread and fish, He turned to the one who had denied Him three times and asked a triple affirmation of love. The confession of love must precede the bestowing of authority; authority without love is tyranny:
Simon son of John, do you love me more than all else? - John 21:15 -
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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