John 21:5-6, Lots of Fish

5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on 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 of the quantity of fish.

Jesus essentially says, “Hey guys! Looks like you haven’t caught anything. Why not try the right side? You’ll have guaranteed success!” If you are familiar with these fishermen-disciples’ history with Jesus, you’ll remember the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5 that brought Peter to his knees. He said to Jesus, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Then Jesus said to Peter, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” The fishermen then pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Jesus as his initial band of disciples.

We are not seeing the retelling by John of the same story in Luke. What we are seeing is Jesus reenacting the same story to remind Peter that in spite of being a sinful man, and continuing to be a sinful man who denied his relationship with Jesus three times several days ago, Jesus still wants him and expects him to be his follower. In what follows, Jesus is going to reinstate Peter as his leader of the band of disciples, so that Peter can lead the new mission.

Thank you, Jesus, that in spite of our continuing sinfulness, we are never disqualified from following you because you are our eternal source of mercy and grace. Amen.