John 21:1-14 for Sunday, June 15, 2007

After this, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. And he was revealed in this way: (2) They were together: Simon Peter and Thomas, called Didymus and Nathanael from Cana of Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples. (3) And Simon Peter said to them, "I am leaving to fish." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and they got into the boat and in that night they caught nothing. (4) And now early morning came and Jesus stood on the shore, however the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. (5) Therefore, Jesus said to them, "Children, have you no fish?" They answered him, "No." (6) But he said to them, "Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. Thus they threw it and they wer eno longer able to drag it for the number of fish. (7) The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it is the Lord, he put his coat on (for he was naked) and he threw himself into the sea. (8) But the other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from the shore, about 200 cubits, dragging the net of fish. (9) When they got out onto the shore they saw a charcoal fire with fish and bread lying on it. (10) Jesus said to them, "Carry the fishes which you just caught. (11) So, Simon Peter went up and dragged the net onto the shore full of 153 large fish and it was a great number, but the net was not torn. (12) Jesus said to them, "Come, have breakfast." But not one of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" They knew that it was the Lord. (13) Jesus came and he took the bread and gave it to them and the fish likewise. (14) This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to the disciples after rising from the dead.

This is a unique resurrection appearance. All the other resurrection appearances happen in Jerusalem, but this one happens in Galilee, near the sea. This story has many of the same parts as other Gospel stories. It reminds us of the beginning of Jesus' ministry with the disciples when they did not know it was the Lord on the shore instructing them how and where to fish. The location is near the same place where Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 people.

It seems that the disciples have retreated to Galilee. The crucifixion of Jesus is in the not-so-distant past, there have been some resurrection sightings and the disciples have more or less scattered. It seems that they have chosen to go back to their original profession, abandoning the work of Jesus.

But Jesus keeps appearing. Jesus appears to them again, in the midst of their busy fishing work. The New Interpreter's Bible Commentary points out that the Greek word, "to appear" is very important in John's Gospel. It's more than just the appearance of the risen Christ. It summarizes Jesus' ministry. In John 1:31, John the Baptist says "I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel." The same word for "revealed" is used here to describe Jesus' appearance to the disciples.

Theologically, more is going on here than simply an appearance of the resurrected Christ. There is more of a revelation going on here. Even today, there are urban legends and stories on TV of people who have seen the dead among us, felt the presence or in some supernatural way know that the dead are not really dead. This is different. The resurrected Christ is revealed to the disciples. This is an unveiling of the work of God, a new act of creation, the heralding of a new era of time. Death no longer can hold anyone down. Death will not have the final victory, for God has revealed a new thing--resurrection, life everlasting.

The appearance of the risen Christ is more than just proof that Christ indeed was risen from the dead and that the other accounts were not just coincidences, or false sightings. No, the appearance of the risen Christ is the revelation of God. It is God's gift to us. Moreover, for the disciples the revelation of the risen Christ means that they cannot simply go back to life as usual. It is not possible for them to return to the lives they knew before because those lives are different now. Even fishing cannot be the same. Their task is to spread the news of the risen Christ, the news of God's mighty work.

Indeed, life is never the same again for any of us when we've met the risen Christ in our own lives. It cannot be business as usual. Even if we go back to our lives at work and home, we do so with a different perspective, with different expectations. The question becomes how you live into the resurrection, how your life reflects not only a belief in the resurrection, but an expectation of the resurrection.