Do we have a life purpose? And if so, how does God fit in? Surely we are not here to suffer – right? God, after all, gave us his glory through his Son. With such glory we must be promised a life of happiness and peace – right? Aren’t we here to live life to its fullest as St Irenaeus hinted.
“The glory of God is man fully alive.” – Saint Irenaeus
Going Fishing
I can only imagine that the disciples asked themselves similar questions after the Resurrection. What next? What was the point? After the loss of our Jesus – what do we do now? Their grief must have numbed their hearts and minds. Yet, life called them to move forward and soldier on. It seems that Peter took to his boat almost unconsciously. He went back to the sea, dropped his nets, and tried to return to a life he once knew. Jesus’ band of disciples followed him.
How many times do we, perhaps like Peter, unconsciously run on auto-pilot when we are overcome with grief or pain? How many times have we sought a sense of normalcy in an attempt to avoid heartbreak and pain?
Finding Jesus
Maybe you can relate. Maybe you have loved and lost someone dear to you. Maybe you have felt lost and you didn’t know what direction to take. Maybe you have questioned your next step in life? Today’s Gospel beautifully reveals to us the truth. The truth is that Jesus is always here, he is forever on the shore of our life and he will tell us when to drop our nets. He will feed us with what we need to fulfill our life purpose.
An important key appears to be the company we keep. We are called to surround ourselves with those who also seek and love the Lord. Even Peter, “the rock” who was leading this band of disciples, didn’t recognize it was Jesus who was instructing him from the shore. Peter needed John’s eyes, the one “whom Jesus loved”, before he actually saw that is was Jesus on the shore. Then of course it gets better. The excitement of the disciples is palpable. Peter “jumped into the sea” and rushed onward towards Jesus. The others delivered the bounty to the shore, dragging the very full and unbroken nets behind them. Then Jesus, as he does, serves his beloved followers. An already prepared breakfast for the disciples awaits and they join together at Jesus’ invitation. Jesus knew they would be in need of nourishment after such an ordeal and he fed them immediately.
We Matter to Jesus
Jesus was there the entire time with his disciples. He witness the futility, and subsequent frustration, as they cast their empty nets into the waters throughout the night. He witnessed their obedience as they cast their nets one more time and he witnessed their joy as they celebrated the bounty. He saw John’s face illuminate upon recognizing his Lord on the shore. He witnessed Peter’s joy as he leapt in the water. And he saw their joy at the breakfast feast as they dinned together one more time.
Jesus will do the same for us. He is there with us, every step of the way. Our lives matter, he has a divine life purpose for each of us, all we need to do is listen to him. He is waiting for us on the shore – even when we don’t recognize him. He knows that sometimes the waters are challenging and exhausting. He wants us to drops our nets at his direction anyway. He wants us to trust him so that we can capture the bounty he has in store for us. Our nets, our unique divine gifts, will be divinely strengthened and fortified as we fish for him. They will not break.
Jesus will nourish us when we are in need. Jesus knows our needs; our physical, emotional and spiritual needs. He is always preparing breakfast for us at the beginning of every day, after every long night, so that we can move forward sustained as we serve one another.
“As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” – 1 Peter 4:10
Jesus – Our Strength
Once fortified and strengthened we can become strong like Peter. He so boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ in today’s reading. His firm words to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees were not the words of a man dropping his nets in search of fish on his own. No, these words, were spoken to capture a miraculous catch, his nets were strengthened as he proclaimed the truth. The Holy Spirit filled Peter, and his words surely resounded throughout all the region – Jesus “is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
When we love Jesus our biggest fear becomes a fear of losing him. A pain his disciples knew all too well. Perhaps, like Peter we will also experience guilt for our unfaithfulness. However, Jesus never leaves us. He is always on the shore waiting to feed us.
Jesus Always Gives More
Remember, the Apostles had already shared in the Last Supper with Jesus before they dined with him on the shore that morning. Jesus had already given them his body and blood so that they could live – something we are invited into during the Mass. Now, Jesus gives them more of himself – more of his body and an abundance of fish. While much has been written about 153 different species of fish by theologians over the past 2,000 years, I think the main point here is that Jesus always has more for us. Big things happen when we rush to Jesus from the sea of our lives.
And best of all, once we are near Jesus we partake of the meal he offers. Then at some point we realize that he is the bread of life living inside of our hearts – he never leaves us. All we need to do is look within to find him waiting there for us to join in his Love.
While our human mind can never understand the mind of God and what he offers us, we do know that by consuming the nourishment of the Son we consume Love itself. Love opens the space for miracles and healing. Will everyone be healed of their physical ailments like the crippled man? We will never know what God’s plans are; however, we do know that his plans are born of perfect Love. Our life purpose is to grow in our ability to fully surrender to God and allow his Love to expand in our hearts.
Opening the Heart’s Door
Ours is not the work of seeking You here or there
where we think You might be, but of opening the
heart’s door, and when we do this You cannot resist
coming in, since our opening and Your entering
are one: You knock and wait, and when we open we
find that You were there all along and will not leave us.
– Meister Echkart
Global Light For Christ
Our little prayer community keeps growing! I believe we are fishing together for Christ. Our prayers are powerful and praying together we are sharing in Jesus’ breakfast on the shore.
If you would like to add your prayer intention below please do so. Or, if you prefer to keep your intention private please email me and I will include you in my prayers. This week I am praying that our hearts open to our Triune God.
God bless all of you. See you next week Friday – Carolyn
God the Father – draw us in your Fatherly love.
God the Son – continue to help our hearts heal and forgive.
God the Holy Spirit – embrace us in your divine love.
