No Going Back
The Second Miraculous Draught of Fishes, by James Tissot, circa 1890.
Have you ever been disappointed with the outcome of something you had hoped for, so you went back to what was comfortable and back to what you knew?
Most of the time we choose the ordinary. We choose what we know over the unfamiliar. We choose what is concrete over what we do not understand. We are creatures of habit. We long for certainty and for what we can simply understand. We do not like the unknown.
In the absence of answers and clarity, we fill in the blanks with our presuppositions, for better or for worse. We want answers. We want absolutes. And in the absence of absolute certainty, we are meaning making people.
This was the case with seven of the disciples after the resurrection of Jesus. These disciples had their entire lives turned upside down by Jesus. After leaving everything and following Jesus for three years, these disciples were now faced with the new reality of their crucified, buried, and risen Lord. What would life look like for them now? How would they go forward. What would they do with their lives? Where would they find peace? How would they meet their needs? What would their relationship with God and with one another be like? What would be their mission?
After several post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, the gospel of John tells us, “Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” (John 21:3. ESV).
The disciples went back to their old trade of fishing after the resurrection of Jesus. They went back to what they knew. They went back to what they understood. They went back to the familiar. They sought comfort and meaning by going back to their old way of doing life. But the old way did not work the way it used to and they caught no fish.
When Jesus visited the shoreline of The Sea of Galilee and coached the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, they caught 153 fish. Jesus met these men where they were. Even though they attempted to go back to their old lives, the old way did not bring them the peace, provision, fellowship, and mission of Jesus. It was the resurrected Jesus that brought these fishermen hope for the future with breakfast on the beach.
May we live forward through the resurrection life of Jesus and never go back to our old ways of living—without the peace, provision, fellowship, and mission of Jesus.
A Resurrection Prayer: “Mighty God, in whom we know the power of redemption, you stand among us in the shadows of our time. As we move through every sorrow and trial of this life, uphold us with knowledge of the final morning when, in the glorious presence of your risen Son, we will share in his resurrection, redeemed and restored to the fullness of life and forever freed to be your people. Amen.” (From the Vanderbilt Lectionary Library, May 1, 2022, Year C, https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/prayers.php?id=135).
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The Second Miraculous Draught of Fishes, by James Tissot, circa 1890.
