THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1^ST MAY 2020

During the virtual service of Holy Communion last Sunday, our Pioneer Minister, Wendy, told us about the disciples’ meeting with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and how they didn’t recognise him until he shared their meal.  This was the first meal after his resurrection that Jesus showed himself to his disciples.  Another meal was that of breakfast on the beach in John 21: 1-17, and today I would like to think about the meaning of the first 3 verses of this passage.

John 21: 1-3

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way.  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.  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.

Reflection:

Some things are hard for us to believe.  This frightened group of men and women we call the disciples, were bewildered.  They’d gone through the horror of watching Jesus die in gut-wrenching agony, and afterwards they had run through a whole range of difficult emotions, shock, hurt, grief and anger at his death.  It had shattered their world, they hadn’t understood when he’d warned them of his coming death, and they really couldn’t understand it even now.  They had to deal with a sense of guilt too.  They’d run away, abandoned him to face it all alone, and left him when he needed them most of all.

Then suddenly, they’d had the astounding news of his resurrection, they had seen Jesus alive again!  Once more a mixture of emotions surrounded them!  Good news is hard to believe when you’re depressed, but Jesus’ appearances had left them in no doubt, except for Thomas – and even he’d been convinced later.  Yet they still had no idea of what to do next, so they went back to fishing in Galilee - this was something they knew and felt safe doing and it gave them something to occupy themselves with during the long hours of the night.  

It was also a time for heart-searching….  They’d left home three years ago with great anticipation, this new prophet was worth giving up regular jobs for, and there had been plenty to do, exciting, sometimes dangerous things which made their adrenalin flow!  Now it was all gone…. they were redundant…. with all the feelings of being let-down and uselessness can bring.

It was a dark night for them all out on the water, and the enveloping mist must have emphasised their sense of isolation.  Yet…. At their lowest point, their empty nets a metaphor for their empty lives, JESUS IS THERE on the shore!  They can’t see him but he’s there, sharing the dark hours, waiting to welcome, warm and feed them round the fire and ready to point them in a new direction.

Poem:

Empty nets, Lord.
Moment when the strands
that keep my life together
seem tenuous,
thin threads incapable
of holding anything of note.

My fishing futile,
with nothing much to show
for all I’ve done.

I sit with Peter and his friends,
cold in the dark,
my mind’s amalgum of
faith and uncertainty in equal parts
with hope and fear,
not knowing what’s for best,
what my next move should be.

Times when I sit alone
human and very vulnerable,
boat drifting in an early morning mist
of fearfulness
net snagged on disappointment.

And yet you’re there,
walking the edges of my life.

Calling me to one more effort,
your presence tempering the dark,
your sunrise scattering the mist.

And when I move
to try again,
your early morning promise
offers me warmth and welcome,
and the reassurance
that my life is lived with you
and the darkness and the mist
don’t count.

Poem written by Eddie Askew.