Gospel: John 21:1-14

 

Jesus was on the shore, but they did not recognize Him. Jesus asks. In the negative response they realize that the night had been deceiving because they had caught nothing. They had been called to be fishermen of men, and they go back to be fishermen of fish. But something had changed in their life! The experience of three years with Jesus produces in them an irreversible change. It was no longer possible to return to the past as if nothing had changed.

 

They did something which perhaps they had never done in their life. Five experienced fishermen obey a man who orders them to do something which is in contrast to their experience. They obey; they throw the net, and behold the unexpected result. Love makes one discover. The beloved disciple says, “It is the Lord”. This intuition clarifies everything. Peter jumps into the water to get close to Jesus very quickly. The other disciples follow him, pulling the boat, and dragging the net full of fish.

 

Coming ashore, they saw a charcoal fire which had been lit by Jesus, where He was roasting fish and bread. He had the kindness to prepare something to eat after a disappointing night. Recalling the Eucharist, John the Evangelist contemplates: “Jesus stepping forward took the bread and gave it to them.” Thus, he suggests that the Eucharist is the privileged place for the encounter with the Risen Jesus.