Easter Friday, April 17, 2020

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.

I was not able to post a reflection yesterday.  I am dealing with an infection this week.  I am doing better today and it is clearing up.

Many details present themselves for serious reflection in today’s Gospel.  First, the list of the Apostles given at the beginning.  Since we are told that they are going fishing, and that at least three of the named Apostles are fishermen, we might infer that the others, among them Thomas and Nathanael (Bartholomew), were also fishermen.  Of the two others not named, one must have been Andrew, Peter’s brother.  Perhaps the remaining four Apostles, including the former tax collector Matthew, remained on shore, as they were not fishermen by trade.  Or, the boat may not have had the capacity for eleven grown men and a reasonable catch of fish.  A typical fishing boat of the time and place would have been about twenty feet long, if that.

John says that Jesus called out to him around dawn, which is when they would have been packing up and coming to shore.  This reminds us of how the Lord called at least four of his future Apostles three years before, promising to make them “fishers of men”.  More so, it reminds us of how Jesus had gotten into a boat with Peter after preaching to the people, and ordered him to go out for a catch.  Peter replied that he and his brother had caught nothing that night, but put out anyway.  At the subsequent miraculous haul of fish, Peter had turned to him, fell on his knees, and said. “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  Jesus answered him with, “Do not fear.  From now on, you will catch men.”  The whole story is told in Luke 5, 1-11.  The similarities between these two events strike us, and must have struck Peter, for whatever sins he was conscious of on the first occasion, here he carried the fierce burden of his denial of Christ at the time of his Lord’s Passion.  Indeed, he could have said again, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man”, and he would not have faulted Jesus for doing so.  But what Peter does is to leap into the water and hurry to Jesus as fast as he can.  Did he arrive first?  Did he speak to the Lord before the others came?  That seems to have been his intention.

The matter of the number of fish has not been solved to anyone’s satisfaction.  John very specifically notes the number as “153”.  It seems strange that he would list a number like this unless there was a deeper meaning, but the Church Fathers, with all their power of discernment, did not find one.  Jerome offered that the number represented the total number of species of fish, which could be spiritually understood as the number of nations in the world, but his source does not list the fish, and, at any rate, no other writer of the time mentions such a number.  Perhaps John gives the number of fish as “153” merely because that was the number of fish caught.  After all, he gives the specific names of various locations where Jesus taught and performed miracles when there seems no special reason for doing so.  On the other hand, John is very concerned with impressing on his audience that his is the testimony of an eyewitness, and many of his descriptions of Jerusalem before 70 A.D. have been borne out by archaeology. 

Peter knew himself to be “a sinful man”, but his love of Jesus drove him to his side.  May we also have the insight and courage to know and to confess so as to draw nearer to our Savior.