An Impasse

Jesus showed Himself again.

1 [a]After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. 2 Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons,[b] and two others of his disciples. 3 [c]Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” 6 So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. 7 So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. 9 [d]When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three[e] large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him,[f] “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. 14 [g]This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.-John21:1-14

'I am going fishing' can also be interpreted as going back to the old life. When Jesus did His active ministry, He and His disciples have something to do all the time - teach, preach, heal, drive out demons, etc. But things changed when Jesus died and resurrected. It seems He was not around all the time. 'What must we do?' or 'What will happen now?' is possibly some questions that each disciple asked. The feeling is similar to a flock of sheep losing their shepherd. Perhaps, it is natural to go back to familiar ways. But God has a different plan. Jesus steps into the void and leads the way. At a time of not knowing what to do, Jesus comes and guides. Above all, Jesus remained true to His promise when He called Peter and the other disciples. Their vocation and their role do not stop, rather, it continues and reaches another level. As Jesus said in John14:18, 'I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.'

There are times that we face an impasse, a void; seemingly, life stopped and there is nowhere to go. But, it is in this very moments that Jesus is all the more knocking in our hearts. He is calling us. Jesus is reaching out to us and wanting to guide us. All we have to do is simply to take His hand.

Image courtesy: The Bible (History Channel)