Stranger on the Beach

Today's is one of my favorite readings from John's Gospel.

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. - John 21:1-14

Before they knew the man at the shore was Jesus, they did as he told them.  It was then, after they caught fish that they understood it was Jesus.

The one who offers us guidance may not seem like one sent from God, but it is only after we take the advice and put it into practice that we come to know how God is involved in what we do.

Not only was Jesus waiting for them when they came ashore, but he had made breakfast for them. 

God strengthens us and seeks our company.  He wants to be a part of our lives and is willing to serve us when He joins us in our endeavors.

So, we may be surprised to find that the person God sends to help us is God himself.

Isn't that what Jesus is all about?  God had sent our own to speak on His behalf and we ignored them.  The prophets were chosen to be our guidance, but we needed something more.  We needed to see God.

So, God became on of us. 

How cool is that?

The interesting thing about Jesus helping the men fish is that it was their goal to capture fish, not His.  He just chose to help them achieve the goal they picked for themselves.  Yes, John uses it as a sign of their work going forward, but the decision was theirs.

So it is with us.  We choose what we feel we need to do, and God sends help in the form of a stranger on the beach.

We just have to decide if we will listen to him or not.

More to come...