Jn 21: 1-14
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.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
A Gift Too Big To Take In
They could not haul in the catch of fish. The gift was too great; it could not be contained. The greatest gifts in our life are connected to the God who cannot be contained. While all saw the gift of the fish, only the beloved disciple saw the second gift: the Resurrected Lord among them. Beneath every gift too big to take in is a second, deeper one: an encounter with the God who is the giver of every good gift.
What gift in your life is too big for you to take in? Can you see Christ on the shore looking at you with love and smiling as you struggle to take it all in? Can you believe that that was the point all along? Rest in that limitation and in that love.
—Fr. Cyril Pinchak, SJ, is a Jesuit priest of the Midwest Province studying Eastern Canon Law at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.
Prayer
Lord, help me to recognize that all that I am, and all that I have, is a gift from you. Open my eyes to your presence throughout my life. Amen.
—Jesuit Prayer team