Acts 9.16, John 21.1-19
5 May 2019: Third Sunday of Easter
They tried to nail him down
to synagogue and Temple,
but instead he took to the streets
because
he had other fish to fry.
They tried to confine him
to doctrine and law,
especially the ones about purity,
but instead he touched lepers
and ate with sinners
because
he had other fish to fry.
....
They thought he had gone for good –
Proconsul, Pharisee, Disciple –
but there he was instead,
in a garden,
a locked room,
on the Emmaus road,
and on the beach
with those whom he loved,
frying other fish. [1]
I do love this appearance of the resurrected Jesus, barbecuing on the beach for his fishermen disciples. Orchestrating yet another of those beautiful miracles of his which turned scarcity into abundance - and, as so often, fish were involved.
But even more involved are people - people Jesus loved, people he spoke to in everyday language, people he shared life with in everyday ways. After the dramas of the preceding three years on the road with Jesus, following the terrible trauma of the crucifixion and the disorientating oddness of his early appearances, his disciples had now returned to doing what they knew best - fishing. We can understand that, I think: it’s probably what we would do too, reorienting ourselves by getting back to work. Many of us have done that after a major event or trauma, it’s felt good to get back to normal. We’ve found healing in doing the ordinary things again.
And so Jesus’ beach barbecue reminded his disciples, as it also reminds us, that more than anything we should expect to find the resurrected Jesus when we’re in the middle of doing what we always do. In the middle of our everyday lives, there he is, watching for us, waiting for us, caring for us. Always there for us to turn to.
What a contrast then, with this lovely friendly domestic scene, was his encounter with Saul on the road to Damascus. Saul’s story shows us that sometimes Jesus will intervene in our lives dramatically; when he has to, he will wake us up with some urgency.
What connects the disciples on the beach with their persecutor on the Damascus road is the presence of the resurrected Jesus in their lives, in their world. The power of the resurrected Jesus to make an impact in their lives, in their world. The purpose of the resurrected Jesus - to make disciples of them - followers who would walk with him as he continued his journey through this world he made and loves.
This presence, this power, this purpose, is still here - and as we worship him today we should be aware that as he was with Peter and the other fishermen, as he was with Saul, so he is with us. He longs for us to spend our days walking with him, following in his way.
He longs for us to see ourselves as his disciples today - which doesn’t mean we should know it all about Jesus: being a disciple is not like ‘having a degree in God’. What it does mean is that we intend each day to journey through with Jesus. Being an intentional disciple ‘isn't just about knowing about your faith: it is also about living it, and sharing it with others.’ [2]
So … as we go about our everyday lives let us be aware that the loving caring Jesus is here with us; and so let us try to show our devotion to him in the things we do and say. And let us encourage each other in that way.
Notes
[1] Reverend Sr. Sandra Sears, Other Fish to Fry (extract here). Wild Goose Publications, Glasgow © 2019. Altered: John Davies.
[2] Paul Handley, ACC-17: ‘intentional discipleship is about a Jesus-shaped life’. Church Times, 1 May 2019. Quoting The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell.
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