Readings: Acts 9:1-20 & John 21:1-19

The disciples are together, looking for comfort, looking for support.  “I’m going fishing,” Peter tells them.  

“We’ll come along too!” They all head out together.  They want to escape from the terrible immobility that sets in when you have lost someone you love.  They feel numb from the events of the past few days.  They long for life to be normal.  Boats, nets, business as usual! They want to get on with their lives. 

They get out onto the water, cast out the nets and wait.  But all night they catch nothing, not even a nibble.  At daybreak, there is Jesus on the shore.  Not that they recognize him.  It is difficult to recognize someone when he’s the last one you’re expecting to see, when it goes against all reason. 

 “Cast your nets to the right side of the boat, and you’ll find some fish,” the voice from the shore calls out. He suggests a new direction.  And suddenly there are fish everywhere.  It is in that act, the overwhelming action of a generous God, that they recognize the risen Saviour. 

In his excitement all the ever-impulsive Peter can think of is to get to shore.  He puts on his clothes and plunges into the water.  The others finish hauling the fish on board and then head to shore themselves.  There is Jesus cooking breakfast.  “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught,” he says to them.  “Come and have breakfast.”  Their lives are shattered.  They are swamped with all the cares of the world.  And there is Jesus inviting them to breakfast. 

They sit down and eat with him – the first breakfast.  And a momentous breakfast it is if you think about it.  During breakfast, Jesus reopens a conversation with Peter.  It is a conversation that began before the cross.  “You’ll betray me,” Jesus told him.  Here on the beach Jesus sets out to absolve Peter for his betrayal.

“Do you love me?” He says to Peter. The question must have startled him. When the question comes again he wonders, "Is it all a nightmare? Is there something I should say?”  He sees himself as a traitor. All he can think of is how guilty he feels.  For the third time Jesus questions Peter. He continues to call him back into a loving relationship.  He knows that going through failure and coming out on the other side strengthens us.

Peter finally gets it. "You know that I love you. I love you with all my heart." It is a turning point in Peter's life, a moment of conversion for him.  And Jesus calls him to ministry. "Feed my sheep!"  Peter and the other disciples literally get up from breakfast to begin building the Church. 

Paul experience on the Damascus road is a similar turning point. His conversion is sudden and dramatic. As that light from heaven flashes around him he realizes that Christian faith means much more than he could ever have expected. He realizes the life-bond that exists between Jesus and his followers. It is a moment of transformation that is reflected in everything he does from that moment on.  There in the dust of the road, blinded by the brilliance of the light, he realizes how Jesus identifies with him.  “Do you love me,” Jesus is saying to him.  He realizes that God is calling him to build up the Church he has set out to destroy. 

What turning points have you encountered in your life of faith?  If you look back over your journey you will most likely find some of your own.  They are times when you have been challenged.  When has Jesus said to you, ”Do you love me?”  How have you responded? 

There are more than a few times in my own life when I have said, “God, if you love me, why is this happening to me?”  We faithfully go to church.  We are devout in our worship.  And then suddenly our world falls apart.  We want someone to blame.  Or we get too burdened with every day life to take in the fact that God loves us.  Or we get too wrapped up in the way of the world! Or we are too angry or hurt! Or we are feeling too guilty! The fact is that people often choose times when God is trying to reach out to them in their pain and sorrow to separate themselves from the Christian community. 

God doesn’t stop calling out to us.  When we are numb with grief, when we are swamped with cares, when our lives are shattered, there is Jesus calling us to breakfast.  “Do you love me,” he says.  The heart of the matter lies in our response. What prevents us from loving Jesus with our whole heart? What behaviours or addictions do we need to give up in order for others to recognize Christ in us?  What is God asking of us in our lives right now? 

They are not always earth-shattering moments.   We may not even recognize them as turning points until later.   But they are always times that bring us clarity in our journey.  They are moments of insight.  They are times when we recognize the resurrected Christ in our midst.   

The question Jesus asked of Peter is a question that each of us must answer.  We may identify with Paul whose encounter on the Damascus Road was earth shattering.  Or we may identify with Peter's slow and steady response.  But our experience is unlikely to be like any other.  It doesn't need to be as long as our response is the same.  Paul encountered Christ and went on to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.  The disciples got up from breakfast and began to build the church.  The heart of the matter lies in our response to that eternal question,   "Do you love me?"  For if you love Jesus then come to breakfast and then go out to build the Church.