John
21:1-6: After
these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His
disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said
to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.
But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the
beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the
boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able
to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
So many times
in life we find ourselves stuck in a rut. We are doing what we always do. Or we
are following a plan we feel is right for us, although we are not realizing any
success. Sometimes we honestly believe we are doing what is necessary to
survive or even complete God’s will, yet things are not going well. Maybe we
are trying to care for others and putting our own needs aside, yet the joy and
satisfaction of living are long gone from our daily routines. Just like the
apostles, who caught nothing, we are frustrated. What to do?
In the above
passage, Jesus has already risen from the dead. Many scholars ask why the
apostles are fishing at this point. They are aware that Jesus has miraculously
returned to them, and they were told to wait for Him. Yet here we see Peter
leading the others into the sea. Maybe they were hungry and this is how they
obtained food. Maybe Peter was tired of waiting, or confused or frustrated and
needed to do what was familiar. I think this is a key point. God reaches out to
us wherever we are in life. He comes to us in the ordinary aspects of our
lives. We do not necessarily find Him secluded in a church or during prayer
time. God wants us involved in life, and that is what happens here. I am
reading a wonderful, short but powerful book entitled, “Abandonment to Divine
Providence.” It is attributed to Jean Pierre de Caussade and this was a
favorite book of St. Therese of Lisieux. In every chapter the author reminds us
that simple daily living performed completely in abandonment to the will of God
is the only requirement for life. Easy to say, but how do we know the will of
God?
We see in our
passage that Jesus is standing on the shore but they do not recognize Him. I
thought it was strange that He called them children since these were His
closest friends, so I read some commentaries and it really is odd to use that
expression here. The word John used was paidiai and literally means
little children. No wonder they didn’t know who was talking to them!
Jesus never called them that before. Plus, we are told many times in the other
gospels that the apostles didn’t recognize Jesus once he rose from the dead
since His body had undergone a miraculous change. It is for our benefit, I
think, that Jesus used the term for little children. What is a better
description of us when we are lost and confused and frustrated? How many times
has Jesus reached out to us in our lives in varied and unusual ways, and
because it was “different” from what we expected we didn’t listen. We need to
learn to expect a God of surprises to lead us in our daily lives.
Jesus offers the apostles advice. He tells them to throw their nets off
the right side of the boat, and they do. What a difference! Before their very
eyes, the nets are filled to the breaking point. That is what happens when we
listen to Jesus. That is what happens when we are humble enough to acknowledge
that the plan or idea we thought was so great, really isn’t so great because it
isn’t the one God had in mind for us. Repeated disappointments and failures in
life are sometimes the result of just not casting off on the other side of the
boat. If we follow the voice of God, we will always be successful in the will
He has for us. Don’t be afraid to change directions, or intentions. Don’t worry
if at first you can’t hear God speaking to you or you don’t recognize the voice
as His. Keep praying, and keep thinking about God. Make your life a prayer to
Him, every thought word and deed, and soon you will hear Him whispering in your
ear. God is always near us in our repeated failures and disappointments, ready
to turn them into successes. Pray without ceasing by making your life a prayer;
be humble, obedient and faithful to God, and then get ready for the big haul.
I will not be doing a daily blog for awhile as I have decided to go
back to work full- time. I have been praying for a way to financially keep my
mom and aunt in the nursing home we chose for them. I really wanted a very rich
uncle from Italy that I didn’t know existed to write me a letter and send me a
check for a huge amount of money since he discovered I was his only living
relative. So, ok, this was not realistic, but I really had fun with the idea as
I prayed for a solution. Then out of nowhere I was offered a job that I
couldn’t refuse. Still sounds very Italian, I know, but hey, I am the
descendant of Italian immigrants, so I pray, dream and live the Italian way! I
will write my blogs as this new schedule permits. I love writing these, and I
thank all of you who gave me encouragement and kind comments. Just keep
checking, I’ll be posting, and let’s all keep casting our nets into the
unknown.
Love you and God bless, or as they say in Italy, "Ti amo e che Dio benedica",
Sandy
