Rocking the boat
Jonathan Fleming
May 04, 2022
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John 21: 1-6 (NRSVA)
1 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ 6 He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
This week, we have seen how we can trust in a God who leads us through the good times and the bad and will never give up on us. Over the next three days, we are going to take a look at John 21, where we see Jesus showing us how this also applied to the disciples, even Peter, the one who denied him.
Fishing is tiring work. It is also something that you get into a pattern, a routine with. You have a particular way of sitting, a particular position in the boat, a particular rhythm, and you don’t change from these patterns easily.
Imagine being out all night and catching nothing. How cheesed off would you be?! By the end of that night, you may want to pack it in altogether!
And then comes a voice from the beach, ‘Did you catch anything guys?’
You can imagine these fishermen biting their tongues and shouting back, through clenched teeth, ‘No!’. They probably wanted to say more than that when they were told to perform their craft differently, but what did they have to lose? They had everything to gain and look at what happens!
We are probably fed up of reading and talking about doing things differently, be it church life or otherwise, but when we see the difference that can be made in a change of direction like the one taken by the experienced fishermen that were Jesus’ disciples, should we be listening and maybe even responding?
PRAYER:
Lord
Help us to look out over the other side of the boat.
Guide us as we seek to do things differently.
Help us to trust that you know what’s best.
Amen.
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