Scripture: John 21:1-19
This is one of my
favorite readings in all of scripture for several reasons not least of which is
the fact that Jesus has just appeared to the disciples after the resurrection
while they were locked in a room and immediately after he leaves, Peter looks
around, stretches, and says, “I think I’m going to go fishing.”
That is a vibe I
can get behind.
But this is more
than an excuse for church folks to head to the lake, though I will certainly
take it. This is a transformational moment in the life of Peter—from the
disciple who denied Jesus three times to the man given a chance to affirm Jesus
three times by the end of the chapter—and so it is also a seminal moment in the
life of all those who follow. After all, Peter is the rock on which the church
is to be built.
And why not,
Peter? He is the one who leads the disciples out of the house—from the locked
room where they waited in fear, not believing Mary Magdalene until Jesus stood
before them in the flesh, showed them his wounds, and breathed on them with the
Holy Spirit. The scene cuts and it is Peter who leads the disciples out of the
room and on to the fishing boat. Peter takes the first step. Now, he doesn’t
catch anything (which is also relatable), but perhaps he intuits that outside
is where Jesus will meet them. They can no longer stay in a locked room. After
all, the Gospel is written on the trees and on the waters if only they have the
courage to leave the room—to go outside like we live at camp where scripture
was written and meant to be the read, outside like the unroofed book that
reveals Christ to us. Sometimes, Christ comes on the shore telling the
disciples to cast to the other side of the boat, and sometimes Christ comes to
us at camp when our inhibitions are cast aside and we let go of our fears.
When Peter and the
disciples meet Jesus after that night of fishing, he famously tells them to
throw their nets on the other side of the boat. When they do, according to John,
they catch 153 fish—a very specific and strangely non-round number which has been
theorized to represent all the known species of fish in that time period.
Clearly, the disciples are about to go fishing in a variety of places, casting
nets for people who were once far outside of the tradition. Jesus calls them as
Jews not only to minister to Jews but to Gentiles, to sinners, to Romans, and to
generally smelly people. Peter and the disciples fishing quickly becomes a
parable of evangelism. Jesus shows them that the world is indeed about to
change.
Which leads us to
that splendid scene on the shore of the Sea of Galilee when Jesus pulls Peter
aside after breakfast and asks him three times “Do you love me?” as if to
reverse the curse of Peter’s denial. For every denial there is an affirmation.
Do you love me? Yes? Feed my lambs. Three times. Do you love me? Yes? Tend my
sheep. And once the curse is broken, then Jesus finally leaves Peter with a
brief allegory about what lies ahead. Peter who was once young—Peter who once
tried to walk on water—Peter who just a few minutes ago stopped his naked
fishing, put on clothes, and jumped into the water when Jesus appeared on the
shore (I simply cannot let that detail pass without comment)—that Peter has a
different destiny ahead, one marked by his ultimate obedience to death. Yes,
the path of discipleship leads toward death, because on the other side of the
empty tomb, death has no power any longer.
