Let’s go fishing
Not long after Jesus returned to us this second time, we were still gathered, and mid-morning I jumped up and said that I was going fishing.
Even though all of our lives were changing, most were really doing much of nothing but contemplating and talking to one another concerning our three year walk with the Lord. The fellowship was wonderful, but being cooped up in that house was not the place for me to be. Fishing had been my life, and fishing was what I knew, fishing is where I went and a few of the other guys went also, when I said; I go a-fishing, they went with me.
This was not to be one of those short trips so we took a few supplies with us, bread, figs, dates and a hunk of goat cheese, for if the weather held, we might fish all night. At dusk the sky turned a beautiful shade of pink with swirls of yellows and hinted among the curls of the few clouds were traces of blue. Every person knew that this meant a calm night, and knowing this, we were of one mind to fish all night.
Using every advantage of knowledge we knew, angling, trawling, casting, and I even tried harpooning into a school of fish that were revealed under our torches, nothing worked. We stood tired and at the crack of day, long before the sun appeared, John and I decided to head back, but trawl on the way.
Not long after the sun had risen, and not far from the shore, James saw a man and his camp fire near the place we were to land the boat. The man called out and asked if we had any food, and John hollered back that none was in the boat. The man said to throw the net over the right side of the boat, and I said that I didn’t want too, for not only I, but all were tired, but John talked me in to it, so we did.
When the net went down, the water started to boil, there was fish everywhere, some jumping out of the net, and some jumping in, this was more fish than any had seen in years. James and John hopped in the little boat that we drug behind, and pulled the net and its’ contents up on the shore , it was a full load, no more could have been placed in that net even if one had tried to shove it in by hand.
None of us knew who this man on the beach was, but it certainly helped to have his support. Myself, seeing all the trouble they were having, I jumped in the water and wadded thru to give ‘em a hand. Thinking, I thought that the person looked familiar, but not certain enough to put a name on him yet.
James counted the fish as we layered them in four straight rows along the waters’ edge, there were a hundred and fifty-three, not medium, but very large, shining in the sun, fish.
Still, we did not know this mysterious person, and him asking us to eat with him, we sat beside the fire that was already built, and ate breakfast. It was then, after half the meal was devoured, that John leapt to his feet and said; “It’s the Lord.” I think we had so many decades of seeing through our carnal eyes, that seeing Truth evaded each of us, therefore, we readily could not tell until now, that it was Jesus. After settling down, we all enjoyed the bread and fish, but mostly the time we got to spend again with Jesus.
When all had eaten, and all were relaxing in the sun, Jesus came to me, as I was but a little separated from the others, and asked: Do you love me? This question startled me. I really didn’t know what was going on here, for He asked virtually the same question three times until I was somewhat confused and maybe a little aggravated, and snapped off an answer a little too quickly. Of course I loved Him, but at the moment didn’t understand what was being said about the lambs and sheep. But He was okay with the situation and told me that not long from now, I would understand. This statement didn’t set well either, and adding to the disorder of something about my death.
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Now Jesus had told us all to go home, and we did. John, James, and Andrew walking with me, talking and examining all that was said and done these past weeks, and wanting very much to decipher all the events, for within, we all understood that growth was at hand. When we passed people in our journey, sometimes they would stop and talk. They’d all start with the weather, or how much longer the days are getting now, but always one of us would turn the conversation to the resurrection of Jesus. The joy we felt was greater than the imagination could comprehend. These were good times.
When we entered Galilee, and getting close to Capernaum, each went to his own home. The thought of seeing my wife for the first time in a long while was exhilarating. John was in a hurry and went on the last few miles ahead of the rest, and evidently saw my wife and told her that I’m on my way, for she was expecting me as I arrived.
Still walking, not far off from our home, early evening, an effortless wind out of the east, I could smell the sea that was to my right, and there she was. Standing under a small grove of fig trees, and a small group of sea gulls between us, my wife, and I just stood there a moment, me looking at her beauty with relief. Even from this distance I could tell, by her body language, that she was as happy as I, our love for each other only strengthened. She stood, and I began to run. The birds going in every direction, and we held each other for a long time, but in my opinion, not long enough. Setting there under the trees, the figs were in blossom this time of year, we talked, first about her mother, family and our friends, and after a while, about the things that I’d heard and seen. I began to tell of all the miracles, the words spoken by Jesus, and the circumstances or our ordeal with the Sanhedrin and the soldiers.
We sat under those trees for several hours, sun to our backs and in the shade of the afternoon, until the light first started to fade. No matter how much or how fast I could talk, I barely began to scratch the surface of all that had happened on this past journey. This was a glorious reunion.
Holding each other’s hand, we walked up the beach and went home.
Several times in the weeks to come, us few disciples got together, and reminisced of all that happened, but most of all we were elated to know that Jesus indeed was resurrected from the dead, alive and very well. Once in a while one of us would receive a revelation of our past experiences, and it would be shared.
My wife noticed, and so had I, that all the emptiness, the fear, the things in my past was gone, melted into space. I had a peace in me that cannot be described, a joy that there just aren’t words to express, my life had changed, and I could tell it had changed for life. When Jesus had looked at me with those eyes, that you could see the universe through, my life liquefied into His, I was healed.