“Feeding & Loving” Colchester Federated Church, May 4, 2025, Third Sunday of Easter (John 21:1-19)

As we talked about last Sunday, we are now in the liturgical season of Eastertide.  Because it takes more than one Sunday to contemplate the mystery of resurrection!  In Eastertide, we explore resurrection appearances from the Gospels.  The stories revolve around the Risen Christ interacting with people in moving ways. 

On Easter Sunday, we witnessed the Risen Christ appear to Mary Magdalene in the garden outside the empty tomb.  Mary Magdalene left this encounter and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord.”[1]  Then Christ appeared to the disciples fearfully locked behind closed doors that same evening.  Jesus came and stood among them, reassuring his followers by declaring, “Peace be with you.”[2]  Eight days later, Jesus appeared to Thomas and the other disciples in the locked room (the story of Doubting Thomas from last Sunday).  The final resurrection appearance in the Gospel according to John is the one we just heard, and it centers the experience of Peter. 

The setting of the story is fascinating.  Because doesn’t it almost feel like we are back to where it all began for Jesus and his disciples?  At least that’s part of what John is going for here.  Because we’re back to fishing on the Sea of Galilee just like before Jesus called these professional fishermen to leave their nets behind to help him fish for people.  The disciples have gone from locking themselves behind closed doors out of fear in Jerusalem to being back in sunny Galilee, to seemingly get back to work on the water.  On the surface, it seems like the disciples are no longer interested in their mission to continue Jesus’ ministry.  Instead, Peter tells some of his fellow disciples, “I’m going fishing” and Nathanael, James, John, and two other disciples decide to go with him.[3] 

As Episcopal Priest Gary Jones points out, isn’t this exactly how human beings deal with emotional overload—by trying to go back to the familiar, returning to our former lives as best as we are able?  The disciples attempt to retreat from the crucifixion and resurrection by going back to their known trade—fishing.[4]  Now I would be remiss to not acknowledge that today is May the 4th.  The Star Wars fans among us are always excited about this date—may the 4th be with you! Perhaps a way to make a Star Wars comparison on this auspicious day is that once Luke Skywalker meets Obi-Wan Kenobi and begins to learn some aspects of his identity—learning about the Force and eventually becoming a Jedi—there is no going back to how life was before when Luke was helping to run the family farm on his home planet.  The bell had been rung.  The cat was out of the bag.  The lightsaber was lit.  There was no going back.

In our Gospel story, the disciples returned to their homes along the Sea of Galilee after all that had happened in Jerusalem.  The disciples returned to their homes after experiencing the Risen Christ among them on several occasions—with Mary Magdalene in the garden on Easter Sunday morning, with the disciples (minus Thomas) on Easter Sunday evening, and then with the disciples (plus Thomas) eight days after Easter Sunday.  Perhaps this was all too much emotionally, and thus Peter declares that he’s going fishing.  It would seem that at least part of them wanted to get back to business as usual.  Yet what the disciples discover is that Jesus is already there at the lakeshore!  Jesus is there waiting to hang out with them and feed them once they get out of their fishing boats and get back to shore.  There is no going back to the way things were.  We can’t flee from the presence of God; we cannot go where God is not.

The story even begins in a similar way to another encounter between Jesus and the disciples in the Gospel according to Luke as Jesus called out to them after they’ve had an unsuccessful night of fishing.  In that story, Jesus told them, “Row out farther, into the deep water, and drop your nets for a catch.”[5]  The disciples do as Jesus commands and their catch was so huge that their nets were splitting.  This time around Jesus says, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some [fish].”[6]  They do, and there’s so many fish that they can’t even haul in the net.  We’re even told that there are specifically 153 fish.  Yet the net hadn’t torn, even with that many fish.

The detail of 153 large fish caught by the disciples is fascinating.  We go from them fishing all night and catching nothing to catching large fish.  153 large fish to be exact.  Preaching Professor Karoline Lewis reflects, “Yes, there are all kinds of suggested possibilities by commentators for what this number might mean.  But, really?  Why can’t it just be a lot of fish?  Am I naïve?  Can’t it be simply that moments of abundance reveal God’s love?  The moment of recognition of Jesus in this story?  When lack is transformed to abundance.  When despair is moved to hope.  When abandonment is replaced with the restoration of relationship.”[7]  In fact, John recognizes that it’s Jesus who called out to them first.  Because who else could it be that told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat, and all of a sudden there are so many fish that they can’t even haul in the net.  Peter gets so excited that he jumps into the water to swim to shore.  We witness Peter move from despair to hope, from abandonment to the restoration of his relationship with Jesus.

Once on shore, Jesus offers the disciples some breakfast.  Jesus had already made a fire on the beach and was cooking a meal.  Jesus gave his friends some bread and fish before turning his full attention onto Peter.  Jesus asks Peter three times “do you love me” and helps Peter to redeem the three times that he denied Jesus.  Jesus offers fish.  Jesus offers forgiveness.  Jesus offers freedom to live transformed lives.  This Gospel story ends with Peter affirming his love for Jesus and being entrusted to care for his fellow disciples as a shepherd cares for their sheep.

In the end, this final resurrection appearance is deeply moving.  We remember that Jesus begins his signs in John’s Gospel by turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana (to prevent families from being shamed as bad hosts and to keep the festivities going).  And Jesus ends his signs by making a fire and having a fish fry breakfast cookout on the beach with his friends (after another miraculous multiplication).  Human and divine acts of abundance and compassion begin and end this Good News, knowing that the Gospel cannot contain all the wondrous acts of love Jesus performed.  For Jesus came that we might have life, so that we could live our lives to the fullest.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

[1] John 20:18, CEB.
[2] John 20:19.
[3] John 21:3.
[4] Gary D. Jones, Pastoral Perspective of John 21:1-19 in Feasting on the Word, David Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Eds., Year C, Volume 2, 422.
[5] Luke 5:4.
[6] John 21:6.
[7] Karoline Lewis, “Resurrection is Abundance,” Working Preacher, April 3, 2016, https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/resurrection-is-abundance

Photo by Rev. Lauren Ostrout.