Fishers of Men

“It is the Lord!” John 21:7

After the crucifixion, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, twice to the disciples meeting behind a locked door in fear, and then at the Sea of Galilee. 

Several of the disciples were there- Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee as well as others who all went fishing. They caught nothing all night. When they went towards the shore at dawn, they saw Jesus standing on the beach but they could not recognize Him. He instructed them to throw their net on the right-hand side of the boat, which was a reminder to Peter of the first time he met Jesus. 

When they obeyed Jesus’ instructions, they caught so much fish they could not draw in the net. They recognized the Lord and ate breakfast with Him. 

In Luke 5:10, Jesus told Peter, “From now on, you’ll be fishers of men”. Indeed, the net full of fish may symbolize the Church. There are so many Christians in the world but the net is not torn. There is so much new life in the Church. Who could have imagined that a rag tag group of men who hid behind locked doors would be able to evangelize thousands, and those thousands would reach thousands more, and in 2018, we would be 2.2 billion Christians in the world? And who would predict that the highest growth of Christianity today would be so far from the Sea of Galilee, in Sub-Saharan Africa? 

It can only be the work of the Lord in those   inexperienced men. And the work will continue, even with all the scandals and immorality, if we put our faith and hope in Him who is the source of our strength and life.