Children, Have You Caught Anything?
A Refection on the Gospel of John 21:1-14 – 5 April 2024
Today’s Gospel mirrors the call of the disciples at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry in the Gospel of Luke 5:1-11. It always seemed odd to me that after three years of following Jesus; through years of His teaching, miracles, passion, death, and glorious resurrection, that the best idea that the disciples could come up with after seeing the risen Christ was, “let’s go fishing.” Their mission to spread the Gospel should have been clear from Jesus’ first call; they were to become fishers of men. Then, they were willing to drop their nets and follow Him; now, they seem to want to pick them back up again. The have come full circle.
For the disciples then, as for us now, such a call can seem bigger than we can imagine and dangerous. Given the immensity of the undertaking to preach the Gospel to all nations, the disciples, as perhaps you and I as well, walk away to hide ourselves amid the everyday “have-to’s,” living mundanely, safely. Jesus wants more from us. He wants us to live in the exhilaration of the great mission, the salvation of the world. Having given His all to this quest, Jesus is standing on the shore calling to us, “Children, have you caught anything?”
Today’s Gospel is a renewal of the call to the Church’s first mission, evangelization. From the initial lines of the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, “Lumen Gentium,” we hear,
Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church. (LG 1)
The Gospel is a call for us, every single day, to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19 NABRE). To do this, we must constantly seek the Lord’s guidance, never intentionally or unintentionally through our acts or thoughtless words withhold the Gospel from anyone, and constantly seek God’s grace in His Sacraments.
Seek the Lord and follow His instructions.
The disciples in today’s Gospel, have lost their own mission orientation. They are not doing the Lord’s work and it comes to no good purpose for the kingdom. Their nets are empty. It is only when they listen to Jesus, and recognize Him on the beach, that their work overflows with grace, to the point that the nets are tearing. Have you ever seen the fruits of your work abound in this way? Look for the Lord in all situations, and prayerfully listen and heed His instructions. Then your witness will become a miracle for God’s kingdom.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 NABRE)
Our work is to call all to salvation in Christ. No exceptions!
We are not just fishing for one type of fish. The Apostle’s pull 153 large fish from the net they have just brought ashore. The Church Fathers conjectured that the 153 represented one of each species of fish in the Sea of Galilee, which in turn represented the 153 ethnicities of people known at the time. In other words, everyone! The Lord does not just call us to preach the Gospel to those we are comfortable with, but to everyone. He does not just call us to evangelize those we know, but those we do not know; those we like, and do not like; those who we feel are worthy but, especially to those we feel are unworthy. No exceptions!
Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13 NABRE)
Feed on God’s Grace.
The Sacraments, especially our Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, fuel us with the strength, courage, and grace to be bold in our actions and words as those who follow Christ. In the Gospel, Jesus had already cooked three fish for the disciples even before they notice Him. Church Fathers saw these three fish as the symbol of the trinitarian grace through which we are Baptized and Confirmed. They are also the sign of the heavenly food, of the Lord Himself, which He provides for our journey.
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. (John 6:53 NABRE)
Hopefully, you had the opportunity to prayerfully walk alongside our Lord throughout the Triduum last week and experience His sorrowful passion and redeeming death, as well as the burst of joy at His rising from the dead. Perhaps though, you, like the disciples need one more nudge to move from being a witness to becoming an apostle, announcing the paschal mystery. Today is your nudge; “children have you caught anything?”
Jesus in the Gospel today reorients His disciples and us, to the task of preaching the Gospel and calling the world to salvation. Jesus has revealed Himself, are you seeking Him? Are you as amazed today at the miracle of our Salvation as you were at the moment you first understood that Christ redeemed you through His passion, death, and resurrection? If not, it is time to seek the Lord. He is awaiting His children on the shore. Like Peter, dive in!
End Notes:
Crawford, K. (2018, July 4). Lady with the lamp. Sharing God’s Love and Grace. https://pastorkaren.org/2018/07/04/lady-with-the-lamp/
“Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: Lumen Gentium (LG).” Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2011. Print.
New American Bible. Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.