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Fishing Stories
A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at the office. However, this may not hold true for the disciples, who fish all night in Sunday’s Gospel and catch nothing. I can relate to that.
When coming home from fishing on the Great South Bay in Long Island, Lisa would ask, “Did you catch anything?” Of course, the answer was mostly, "No." I was not proficient at saltwater fishing. My answer should be, “The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad.”
One evening, while toiling on the water with not a single bite, a man in a neighboring boat called out and offered me the Striped Bass he had just caught. There are size and number limits for Striped Bass, and he must have reached his limit. Feeling sorry for me, he tossed the fish into my boat.
I “caught” a fish, so I headed home. I walked into the house with a big grin on my face. Lisa said, “You caught a fish!” I could have told her an exciting story about how I battled the fish, but I couldn’t lie. Besides, she wouldn’t believe me.
In Sunday’s Gospel from John, Jesus makes his third post-resurrection appearance to the disciples, this time from the shoreline, and calls out, "Hey guys, did you catch any fish?" I've heard that before.
They didn't recognize Jesus but followed his directive when told to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. They caught a load of fish, 153 large fish, but struggled to bring them to shore. The gospel writer may have used 153 because the number of known fish species was 153. Is this true? We don't know, but again, this is a fishing story!
Only when they brought their big catch ashore did they recognize Jesus. Jesus has a habit of appearing in our lives. He shows up when the disciples are locked away in fear. He appears outside the empty tomb to comfort Mary in her time of need. He came to the shoreline when the disciples sought direction. Jesus arrives at the most opportune moments in our lives.
When Jesus shows up, we need to listen to His voice. After a frustrating night of fishing, the disciples needed to hear Jesus say, "Cast your net to the other side of the boat." The same is true for us; despite the pressures and distractions of today, we need to see and hear Jesus speaking to us and be obedient to His will.
Following Jesus' call means putting our nets back into the sea, even when we are tired and have not succeeded.
Join us for worship on Sunday at 10:30am to hear the greatest fishing story ever.
All are welcome!
Shalom+
Pastor Eric
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