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Full netsFriday, April 1, 2005
John 21:3-6 "Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, "Friends haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"
I have some great pictures. Marc caught a beautiful fish, and together we caught a bunch. Kevin and his first mate Alex had a pretty good idea where to look for the schools, and we had lots of lines in the water, and we had a great morning pulling in tuna and mahi-mahi. And there was always just the chance we'd hook a sailfish, or even a blue marlin. You just never know. We weren't catching our dinner, though. And we didn't sell the fish to pay for our trip. Peter and John had to catch fish. All night in the boat, they didn't stop till morning light, knowing how much they needed a catch. But nothing. What a captain Jesus was. Put your net on the other side of the boat? Peter didn't recognize Jesus, but still he followed his suggestion. I don't know how Jesus did it, stirring up and moving those fish, but Peter caught them all. And when Jesus showed himself, Peter ran through the water straight into his arms. Peter's denial of Jesus may have been uppermost in Peter's mind, but shame did not destroy him. Jesus' forgiveness of Peter was followed quickly by Peter's forgiveness of himself. Jesus' love gave Peter new life, new opportunities to give and receive the unquenchable love of God. You put your arms around me, Lord, and love me. My nets are full. |
Marc and I fished for the big ones last summer in Islamorada deep water off the Florida Keys. The boat was clean bright white with rigging that went up and up into the blue sky. It was just after dawn. Kevin, our captain, turned on his radio and drove that boat like the wind about 15 miles into the ocean, and then we started to fish.