John 21:1-14 Breakfast on the Beach

Here is another episode in the story where ’ closest friends do not recognize him. Much like Mary earlier at the tomb, they recognized neither his figure and face nor his voice; that they did not know him, as verse 4 tells us, is emphasized by that intriguing statement in verse 12, “They did not ask who he was, they knew it was the Lord.” Might I suggest there was still some doubt about

Jesus? Everyone seemed to accept quite readily that Lazarus had died and come back to life, but there was something different about Jesus, so that even when they knew who he was, when they saw him, there was yet some quality about him they still couldn’t recognize.

You may have noticed that I have the butterfly hanging from the pulpit. A butterfly, symbol of resurrection, the beautiful creature that rises out of its cocoon- the caterpillar’s tomb. Maybe we should think of resurrected Jesus as a butterfly, or perhaps, consider that the disciples only knew Jesus as a caterpillar- a wonderful, powerful, compassionate caterpillar, a holy and spiritual man, but figuratively, just a caterpillar. The resurrected Lazarus was exactly the same as before- it’s just that he was alive now instead of dead. But when Jesus became the victor over death, they could finally see the butterfly that had been hidden inside the plain and lowly earthbound man, and they didn’t recognize him. Somehow

Jesus was still the same, and yet he wasn’t the same; he was still Jesus- he didn’t really look like a butterfly, of course, or an angel, no wings or halo or an ethereal glow surrounding him- but he no longer looked like a caterpillar, either.

You may have heard that one hundred years ago today, on the night of

Sunday, April 14, and into the hours after midnight on the 15th, 1912, the ocean liner, Titanic, hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and broke apart and sank.

Coincidence that today I am preaching from a text of scripture that has seven men in a boat fishing on the Sea of ? I think not. Or maybe it is- I hadn’t thought about the Titanic until a couple of days ago, but I couldn’t let this anniversary pass without mentioning it. But our story has a better connection to another story, of a miraculous catch of fish in , in which Jesus tells the fishermen to cast their net in a particular place, and they catch so many fish that the net begins to break, a catch so great and heavy the boat begins to sink. Here, the net holds and the boat retains its seaworthiness. In the other story, Peter falls on his knees before Jesus and begs that he leave him, so full of wonder and dread is he; here, he jumps into the sea to swim to shore, so impatient to greet Jesus. It is important to note in this story that the boat and all on her reach land safely, and that not a single fish escaped or was lost. We may not know how to interpret this number of fish in the net, this 153, but it tells us at the least that they are all accounted for.

A better way to understand this story, which in several places may puzzle us, is to compare it to chapter 6 of the gospel. We looked at that long chapter three weeks ago, trying to decipher Jesus’ words about himself as the “bread of life,” examining Peter’s confession that Jesus was the one who possessed the “words of life,” that the disciples had realized Jesus was indeed the “Holy One from God.”

Chapter 6 begins with the feeding of the 5,000- with only five loaves of bread and two little fish, if you remember- and contains several discussions about God’s gift of the bread from heaven, Jesus at last proclaiming that his flesh is the only true bread that gives life. But between the and the conversations- or confrontations- is a brief story of the disciples in a boat and their terror as Jesus approached them, walking on the water. But he assures them, “Do not be afraid; it is I!” and they arrive at the shore just as he comes to the boat. Just as here he has come to meet them on the beach.

In chapter 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000 on the eastern side of the , and later the nighttime sea voyage takes the disciples back to their home port, Capernaum, likely the exact spot they now find Jesus on the beach preparing breakfast for them. Chapter 6, the last time in John’s gospel Jesus was in Galilee, until now; the last time the fishermen had tested their sea legs, until now. , the final miracle- or sign, John calls it- in Galilee. But now they come ashore and Jesus meets them with fish and bread- the same meal as that miraculous feast of chapter 6, bread and fish, and the Greek word for fish here is the same word as the fish that were multiplied to feed the 5,000. Here is a continuation of that great banquet. And I think we are to see in this that anytime the Lord is present it is a feast and a celebration, a miracle- whether thousands partake, or only the few.

Now, all the writers I’ve read who describe this scene in say that this breakfast of fish and bread should not be interpreted as Eucharistic- it’s not a communion-type meal. They are basing that interpretation upon the retelling, in

Matthew, Mark, and Luke, of Jesus’ with his disciples- from which came the form of the early church’s practice of communion. And the scholars are right, John 13, which has Jesus’ meal that last night, and this early morning meal on the beach are quite different from the accounts of the other . But there are many points of dissimilarity between John’s story of Jesus and that of the synoptic gospels, and reading and pondering the unique perspective of John certainly gives us a fuller understanding of Jesus, and a more complete way of seeing what we are about at the Lord’s Table.

So how can we not read this passage as a variant meditation on the church’s banquet of fellowship and discipleship? Indeed, some of the key words here, as

Jesus takes bread, and gives it to them; here Jesus comes to them; and here, the writer insists (three times), Jesus reveals himself. Let us consider as we gather at table, that our Lord comes to us now and shows himself as we share these plain, simple elements made into the miraculous feast of life and love and fellowship.

One of my professors in college described the beginning of this scene, the seven disciples together, bewildered by the events of recent days, Jesus’ death and then his appearing, so difficult to understand for us, as well; my professor read Peter’s words in this way, “I need a break; I’m going fishing.” And that may be the correct interpretation, but it’s also possible that out of their confusion, and because

Jesus no longer was with them constantly, but came and went- arbitrarily it seemed- and had appeared only a couple of times so far, that they decided at this point to return to their previous occupations. “I’m going back to fishing,” is perhaps Peter’s meaning. Whatever interpretation, maybe it doesn’t even matter, because the key point is that Jesus comes and reveals himself, and blesses them with food and companionship- fellowship with himself and with others.

There may be a second key point, as well: his command that they bring to him the fish they caught. These 153 fish should not be thought as part of their breakfast that morning- the fish they eat, verse 13, are the same fish of verse 9- same Greek word; the same fish as chapter 6; the fish in the net are called by a different word. We may understand the netted fish symbolically, as lives brought to the Lord by their work, or by our work on his behalf; or more literally, as our willing contribution for his goodness to us. Whether this is figurative or literal, whether the fruits of our labor, or of our recreation, we should understand this as his gift to us. (He told them where to cast their net, after all.) And he demands that we bring back to him all that he has given. And in return- as if he hasn’t already done everything for us- in return, he grants us loving hospitality, fills us with good things; our bodies and hearts and minds are blessed by the presence of the Risen Lord. If we pay close attention, he will reveal himself to us- in the working, in the eating, in the giving.