Reading 51
Breakfast on the shore
The reading
John 21:1-14
After these things, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I'm going fishing." They told him, "We are also coming with you." They immediately went out, and entered into the boat. That night, they caught nothing.
But when day had already come, Jesus stood on the beach, yet the disciples didn't know that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore said to them, "Children, have you anything to eat?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." They cast it therefore, and now they weren't able to draw it in for the multitude of fish. That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's the Lord!" So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around him (for he was naked), and threw himself into the sea.
But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits away), dragging the net full of fish. So when they got out on the land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught." Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of great fish, one hundred fifty-three; and even though there were so many, the net wasn't torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and eat breakfast." None of the disciples dared inquire of him, "Who are you?" knowing that it was the Lord. Then Jesus came and took the bread, gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was revealed to his disciples, after he had risen from the dead.
The companions
Psalm 107:23-31 (selected)
Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters; these see the LORD's deeds, and his wonders in the deep. For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves. They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble. Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress. He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven. Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!
Ezekiel 47:9-10
It will happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, will live. Then there will be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river comes. It will happen, that fishermen will stand by it. From En Gedi even to En Eglaim will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many.
A word for the week
What do you imagine the risen Son of God would do when he came back to his friends? Something grand, surely: a pronouncement, a display, a commissioning from a mountaintop. Watch what he actually does in this quiet story, because it is almost startlingly ordinary. He builds a fire on a beach, cooks some fish, and calls out to a boat of tired, discouraged men: come and have breakfast. The risen Lord of the universe makes his friends a hot meal on a cold morning. If you want to know what he is like, do not look only at the empty tomb. Look at the breakfast.
The disciples have gone back to fishing. You can feel why. Their whole world had turned over, the Lord was dead and then, they were told, alive, and they did not know what to do with themselves, so Peter says, I am going fishing, and the others go with him. It is what you do when you do not know what else to do; you go back to the familiar work. And they fish all night, the way they used to, and catch nothing. The old life does not quite fit anymore, and it does not even fill the nets.
Then, at dawn, a figure on the beach they do not recognize, asking the question that must have stung a little: children, have you caught anything? No, they admit. And he tells them to throw the net on the other side, and suddenly it is so full they cannot haul it in. And the disciple Jesus loved says the line that turns the morning: it is the Lord. Peter, of course, does not wait for the boat; he throws himself into the water and swims for shore. That is Peter, all impulse and love, the same man who had denied him, now unable to get to him fast enough.
And what is waiting on the shore? Not a rebuke. A fire already lit, fish already cooking, bread. He had breakfast ready before they got there. Think about that. Peter, who three times had said I do not know the man, comes dripping out of the sea, and there is no lecture waiting, only a warm fire and food and the quiet invitation: come and eat. The risen Christ prepares a meal for the friends who abandoned him. That is how he chooses to come back to them, not with the failure hung around their necks, but with breakfast.
Notice too that he lets them keep their part. He does not simply produce the meal complete; he says, bring some of the fish you have just caught. He provides everything and still invites them to bring what little they have to the table. That is how he works with us. The provision is all his, and he still asks for our small basket of fish, our ordinary contribution, so that we are not only fed but included.
So here is the answer to the question. What does the risen Lord do with his friends? He feeds them. He meets them in their tiredness and their failure and their long empty night, and he does not begin with a sermon. He begins with a fire and a fish and bread and the words come and eat. Whatever else you believe about him, believe this: he tends to come to ordinary people, in ordinary need, with a meal made ready. That is worth remembering every time we sit down at our own table.
At the table
Where have you gone back to fishing, doing the old familiar thing because you don't know what else to do? Can you picture him with breakfast already made, meeting you before a word of failure is spoken?
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (public domain). The divine name is rendered "the LORD" in the Psalm.