Friday 17 April 2009
- Bible Book:
- John
"So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast.' Now none of the disciples dared ask him, 'Who are you?' because they knew it was the Lord." (v.11-12)
Background
The disciples seem sure what they are going to do next. "I'mgoing fishing," Simon Peter says. Well at least it was something todo. But it didn't really make things better because after toilingall night they hadn't caught a thing. However, in the morning, ameeting with the risen Jesus changes things completely.
On the instruction of Jesus, they cast their net on the other sideof the boat and miraculously fill their net to breaking point withfish. When they come to shore, Jesus is cooking breakfast andshares fish and bread with them in what looks like a sacramentalact.
Like other stories in John's Gospel about Peter and "the disciplewhom Jesus loved" (who may have been John the son of Zebedee, butthis is not certain), this is an example of Peter being the quickerto act and the beloved disciple quicker to see and believe. Have alook at John20:6-8.
It could be that this reflects some rivalry in the early Church asto who was the most significant among the Apostles, but the detailabout the catch of fish emphasises the unity of the Church. Therecord of the number of 153 fish is there not because an eyewitnessactually counted them all, but because of the significance of thenumber. People in the 1st century took numerical symbolism veryseriously indeed. 153 could represent the number of known countriesat the time or, more probably, be a number representingcompleteness or perfection. The fullness and completeness of theChurch, for all its variety, remains a unity, just as the net withall the fish remains unbroken.
To Ponder
Have you ever felt God's presence in an ordinaryeveryday situation? What happened?
Are there meals, or other occasions, that youfeel are sacramental, other than the formal sacrament of HolyCommunion? What are they?