During the forty days between the resurrection and the ascension, on various occasions, Jesus appeared and disappeared to his band of believers, until they were certain that he had survived death. They would be huddled together, talking about the meaning of all that had happened and suddenly he was in their midst. Just as suddenly he was gone.
Sunrise is dawning on the beach of Lake Galilee. Seven disciples are 100 yards from shore frustrated from a fruitless night of fishing. A stranger appears at the water's edge. His voice travels effortlessly over the surface: "Have you caught anything?" They confess: "Nothing." The stranger suggests that they take up the large net and spread it out, over the other side of the boat. Everybody knows that moving the net will only spook any fish in the area. But there is something vaguely familiar about that voice. So, contrary to their better judgment, they cast the net on the other side.
It seems that the movement of the net attracts every large fish in the lake and soon their net is bulging with 153 of them. John, with his characteristic spiritual perception is the first to recognize: "It's the Lord!" Peter with his characteristic impulsiveness hurls himself into the lake and begins to swim for shore while the other six, bending their backs, try to row that net full of flopping fish to the bank. What a scene for some gifted artist to immortalize on canvas.
As Peter pulls himself, dripping wet, from the water Jesus says, "Come and dine." What a welcome invitation to one who has spent a long night in futile fishing. Can't you just hear the fish sizzling and smell the bread warming on hot coals? A tummy tingling, tasty tidbit, to be sure.
The Gospel of John identifies this as the third resurrection appearance. The first two had occurred on successive Sundays in the holy city of Jerusalem, as the band of believers had gathered together in an 'upper room' for worship. This third manifestation occurred sometime during the week, in Galilee of the Gentiles, as the disciples engaged in their vocation of fishing. The Savior of the sacred is also Savior of the secular. We can find him not only in the church on Sunday; he is available all during the week as we labor in the work-a-day-world.
Our Galilee may be at a sink full of dirty dishes. It may be at the working end of a vacuum cleaner. It may be in an office behind a desk piled high with paper-work. It might be on the assembly line of a factory. Where ever it is, Jesus is available to those who turn to him for support.
Let's not draw such a hard-line between the sacred and the secular. Our wonderful Jesus has risen above death but not above the monotony of the mundane or the ritual of the routine. Even after Easter, the Risen One had time to prepare breakfast for seven hungry fishermen.
