John 21:4-8. Jesus appears to his disciples for the third time after the Resurrection. This time, instead of being locked in the upper room in fear, the disciples are out fishing. Peter finally had mustered some courage (or maybe he was just stir crazy!), and decided to go fishing, and the other disciples came along. They fished all night and caught nothing, but then, in the morning "Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus." Jesus calls out to them, asking if they have any fish, and when they say no, he tells them to cast on the right side of the boat. They do, and they catch a huge amount of fish. "The disciple whom Jesus loved" (aka, John), recogizes then that this is Jesus, and he tells Peter. Peter puts on his clothes, "for he was stripped for work", and jumps into the sea to swim to Jesus. The rest follow in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, "for they were not far... about a hundred yards off."

As usual, there is so much here! (I LOVE John's Gospel!!) First, let me get my "undevout thoughts" out. My brother once said "Did you ever notice that the disciples were not very good fishermen? Jesus is always yelling to them from the shore 'Go out deeper!' or 'Cast over there!', and then they finally catch something." Ever since then, I laugh whenever I read one of these fishing scenes. (I know it is symbolic, and I'm sure they were just fine fishermen, but it is true that in the stories that we have, they rarely catch anything until Jesus shows up!) Second, it cracks me up how John always refers to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." He just had to make sure, for posterity, that we all know just how much Jesus loved him!

OK, with all that out of the way -. I know this scene is important for showing how the disciples will be sent out to be "fishers of men", building the Church, and bringing people to Christ. I think we all know that, so let's look at some other things. - like how Peter puts on his clothes before jumping into the sea. That seems weird, right? I mean, if you're stripped to your skivvies and you're going to jump in the sea to swim to shore, you wouldn't usually put your clothes back on first, they'll just weigh you down! I think this shows the innate respect we show our Creator and Redeemer - our God - once we realize who he is. It's easy to be dismissive of God, and even disrespectful at times (maybe even unwittingly) when we have not yet fully appreciated who he is and what he has done for us. I think of how I used to not always go to Mass on Sundays or, when I did, not always dress nicely. I didn't "get" it yet - Mass was just something that I was supposed to do - I did not fully appreciate what was happening and who I was worshiping. Once I did, though, it became something no one can keep me away from. The best part of my day is going to Mass and receiving the Eucharist! Like Peter jumping off the boat and into the sea - I can't wait to go see Christ whenever I can! And I want to look nice- who else should I dress nicely for, but him? I think this is why we see Peter put on his clothes before swimming to shore.

Another thing I think about here is the other disciples staying in the boat and dragging the net full of fish back to shore. There will always be people like Peter - people just so eager and happy and impetuous that they race to the Lord, and no one else matters in that moment. And we are all like Peter sometimes, and should be! But when we are like Peter, there have to be others who keep their heads about them and bring the boat, and the net, and the fish back to shore. And we all have to be like those people sometimes, too, to allow the people who are having their "Peter moment" to have it, and live in their joy. Sometimes, too, we are the fish in the net being dragged to Jesus. That was me when I was not always going to Mass. The rules had been ingrained in me, so I felt I should go, but I didn't. I felt dragged. Good on the people (my parents, my priests, my teachers) who dragged me! If not for that dragging, I would not know where to turn when I needed God, and I would have never had my "Peter moment"! I would never have recognized Jesus on the shore.

So the disciples here are the Church - fishing for men, and sometimes having to drag us, once we enter the net, with rules and guidelines, to the truth. As long as we let ourselves enter the net, they will bring us to him. He will do the rest, in his time, and in his way, as long as we remain open to the truth. One day, we will truly recognize Jesus, put on our clothes, jump into the sea, and swim to him, leaving everything else behind!