As is my custom I rise for morning prayer and use the Magnificat as a guide. I used to hit the ground running but I’ve learned it is much wiser and more productive to take the 30 minutes with God. Recently my reading for the day came from John 21.
The story opens at the Sea of Galilee where we find Peter and some of the apostles gathered just as the Lord had instructed them to do. This occurred after the resurrection.
“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
A man whom they did not recognize appeared on the shore and yelled to them to toss their nets to the other side. When they did, they were unable to haul in the net because of the huge number of fish. Immediately they knew it had to be the Lord so Peter jumped into the water to swim to shore while the other men brought the boat ashore. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
It’s a great story and incredibly simple to relate to. Let’s go fishing? But it could just as easily be “Let’s go to the store” or “Let’s wash those dishes.”Jesus meets us in the middle of our lives. He often breaks into our ordinariness doesn’t He.
The great spiritual masters would remind us to be where we are supposed to be and not where we are not supposed to be. It’s not as though God cannot find you anywhere but the great giants of our faith use such lofty ideas as a tool to mentor us. The gospel records that the men were gathered just as the Lord had instructed them to do. They were in the place where God could find them.
God finds us in the very ordinary places of life as we go about our responsibilities and interests. Are we perceptive enough to see Him when He does? Do we connect the dots or have we become so busy that we don’t have the time to reflect and see Jesus on the shore of our lives?
Do we make the time?
“I’m going fishing”? What an odd story. We are not unlike the characters in the story. After the resurrection they went back to something familiar. Three years prior Jesus told them that they would be fishers of men, yet here we find them in a very familiar place, while doing something that was safe and comfortable. Had they given up? I would certainly say no. Jesus had told them to go to Galilee and simply wait and while they waited they did something familiar. They fished. It sounds like us doesn’t it.
There are several spiritual applications in the story that we can apply to our lives.
There is nothing wrong with being in the center of life’s responsibilities. God expects us to fulfil our obligations. Our problem often is not being in the wrong places in our lives but being in too many of the right places. We forget to wait. We forget to listen in silence and we become less productive. We toss our nets and end up with nothing and wonder why. A productive day starts with prayer and we continue that interaction with God as we do the ordinary things of the day. Begin to develop an ongoing communication between you and God.
Consistently talk to Him.
The chance encounter of Jesus cooking breakfast was the surprise of the day for these men. Extraordinary things on a seemingly ordinary day. You just never know when God will suddenly break into your life. Jump out of the boat and move beyond the familiar. Swim to shore and move towards Jesus. Don’t get caught in a current that moves you from shore.
Time is the most precious commodity in the world. Is the time you spend consistently moving you to shore or away from it?
Evaluate your entertainment choices. Do you check ratings? What about your commute to work? What do you listen to? What books do you read? What do my choices say about me? Are we examining our lives while using Scripture and the Church as our guide? Where have I failed and what is my plan to change? Our faith should always be in motion. It should never be static. Don’t just read, truly think about it. Don’t just listen, truly hear. Don’t just look, truly see. Question, even doubt, but don’t be ambivalent.
We’ve only got one shot at life. Make it count.
Are we waiting in Galilee or fooling ourselves? Can you hear the lapping of the waves on the shores of Galilee as it beckons you to its familiar coast? There were seasons in my life when Galilee was like a nighttime dream that I scarcely remembered. But today I keep the shoreline in full view. Like the early apostles I seek its familiarity and safety.
I know we are all busy. We have families, careers and numerous responsibilities which God expects us to engage in. But He also expects us to wait in Galilee. Are you?