Coronavirus Talk 18
Let us begin with an Our Father
For the final leg of this series in which we have been discussing on who Jesus is, I want to talk about the miracles attributed to him that we find in the Scriptures. All of Jesus’ healings can be considered miracles, of course, but there are other miraculous events which did not involve healings. Both the miracles and the healings are meant to bolster Jesus’ claim and authority as God’s human face.
The first miracle of Jesus in the gospel of John, Chapter 2, records Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana. This first miracle is a fairly hidden gesture of extraordinary kindness, sensitivity, and generosity on the part of Jesus to save from embarrassment a young couple whose reception might have been ruined had they run out of wine. Only three people knew what had happened: Jesus, his mother who made Jesus aware of the situation, and the maître d’ who tasted the water made wine and pronounced it spectacular. Besides the fact of its anonymity, the other thing about this miracle is its extravagance. It was an astonishing amount of wine. This lavish demonstration of power will be a consequence of many of Jesus’ miracles.
Three of Jesus’ miracles were resurrections: the young daughter of Jairus who had just died; the only son of a widow whom Jesus encounters as the family is taking his body to be buried; and Lazarus, who has been sealed in his tomb for four days.
But the miracle I want to speak of tonight is one of my favorites: the miraculous catch of fish. I choose this one because it is only recorded in two of the gospels, Luke and John; and they use it for quite different purposes. I hope you will see that both present the miracle in a way that touches, inspires, and challenges every Christian. Let us take Luke first:
Once when Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret. And the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little was from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets for a catch.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So, they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell at Jesus’ knees saying: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be fishers of men.” When they had brought their boats, they left everything and followed him. – Luke 5:1-11.
The power of this passage hits us as soon as Jesus gets into Peter’s boat (without even asking) and tells him to go out into the deep water. It is an invitation to Peter to go where nothing will ever be the same again. When Peter, the expert fisherman, tells Jesus: “They aren’t biting today,” he gives Jesus the opportunity to show him exactly what can happen when someone wants to make a way out of no way. Seeing what Jesus can do if he is in charge, Peter instinctively knows he is being called into something special, something extraordinary, something truly awesome. And of course, Peter does not believe he is worthy of it. He knows himself well enough to know his weaknesses. But Jesus assures Peter of what he assures you and me of: You do not have to be perfect to serve God; you only have to be available. So, Jesus says to him what is said to everyone who finds themselves having moved away from worldly shallowness into spiritual significance: “Be not afraid.” These are the same words spoken to Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joseph and Mary and to every single one of us who finds him/ herself encountering what God can do when he invites himself into our boat. “Be not afraid” was the catchphrase that Pope John Paul II became famous for throughout the 32 years of his service, constantly encouraging the church of the 21st century to stay rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ, to make sure that we don’t drift away from “being fishers of men to being keepers of the aquarium.” There are 365 instances of “Be not Afraid” in the Bible, one for every day of the year, except for leap year. (Every February 29, you have permission to be afraid.) And when they brought their boats to shore, they left everything, everything, to follow Jesus.
The gospel of John uses the miraculous catch of fish, not so much as a call, but as a mission, a sending forth. This event takes place sometime after Easter Sunday.
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So, they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, have you caught anything?” “No, “ they answered. He said, “Throw your nets 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!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord.” He wrapped his outer garment around him (he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them. “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So, Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153 of them, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come have breakfast.” Not one of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter answered him, “Yes. Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to Peter the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because Jesus had said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to Jesus, “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.) After this he said to Peter, “Follow me.” – John 21
In the talk I gave on the appearances of the risen Jesus to the disciples, I told you that there were three characteristics that all these events had in common: those Jesus appeared to were in a negative mood, they were slow to recognize the risen Jesus, and they received their mission from him. As the passage begins, the disciples are impatient, bored and restless waiting for Jesus to let them know the next step. When he takes the initiative and greets them from the shore, although they tell the stranger that the fish are not biting, they have no idea who he is until he tells them where to put their nets. When the 153 fish overwhelm the nets and, after John recognizes Jesus, Peter is stunned, so stunned that he puts on his clothes before he jumps into the water to swim for shore. Notice again here that the number of fish is amazing and, like the wine at Cana, almost overkill. But, once again, the Lord made a way out of no way.
The remainder of the story though is the reconciliation between Jesus and Peter. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, and so Jesus asks him three times: “Do you love me?” And with each assurance of his love, Jesus transforms Peter from the fisherman into the shepherd: “Feed my sheep.” Peter’s mission, the disciples’ mission, the mission for you and me: feed the sheep.” The mission is not just for Peter or the disciples. It is for everyone. The evangelist Dallas Willard said something that I think is important and relevant: “The world can no longer be left to mere diplomats, politicians and business leaders. They have done the best they could, no doubt. But this is an age for spiritual heroes – a time for men and women to be heroic in their faith and in spiritual character and power.” This is the time for us.
“If you love me, feed my sheep.”
Again, we do not have to be perfect to serve God, we only have to be available.
Tomorrow night: another miracle to help us build up our faith.
Let us end with a Hail Mary and a blessing.