God labours for us!

 The amazing story of who turned up to breakfast with the disciples is at the heart of our Easter experience. It is now three weeks since Easter Sunday and there can be a tendency to return to life as normal. Much as the disciples experienced the early resurrection experiences it appears that they returned to what was everyday and familiar. We know this can be the experience of many people especially after they have experienced trauma in their life. They seek to discover patterns that make sense of what has happened by sharing time with friends in a common activity that makes sense of the disorder they have encountered.

Yet I believe there are three things we need to be aware of in the story. In the midst of the fishing expedition, the disciples are working hard but catching nothing. They seem to have become frustrated that their attempts to engage in this familiar activity leave them feeling exhausted and bereft. They had hoped for a pleasant day out but discovered that their nets were empty and their hearts were longing for more.

In the midst of this story, a seeming stranger stands on the shore and shouts out instructions to pay out their nets on the other side. We can sense the fatalism which must beset the disciples when they seek to defend their actions which have proved fruitless and yet somehow trust that it is worth one last go. They catch more than they ever imagined and then the beloved disciples recognize the connection that it is Jesus who stands on the shore. Peter jumps into the water towing the net to land.

As they arrive breakfast is already being prepared. Almost like a cooking show, they are welcomed to something which has already been made. They sit down to eat and recognize that they are in the midst of Jesus who eats with them. 

This has ready application to our own lives is that Jesus meets us in what is familiar and transforms it not only to feed us but to also feed others. Jesus already knows our hearts but requires our active involvement to allow the work to become manifest with fundamental goodness. Lastly, it does slow us down to give thanks that in the midst of all creation is a person who knows us better than we know ourselves. A person who feeds us with what will sustain us with hope as we engage with the heart of life.