Sau cuộc khổ nạn của Chúa Giêsu, các môn đệ của Chúa đã bắt đầu chán nản và ngã lòng, họ muốn trở về cuộc sống cũ, nghề kiếm sống cũ của họ, họ thức cả đêm thả lưới trong những cơn gió lạnh, họ kéo lên, thả xuống, mất bao nhiêu công sức, rách cả lưới, mất cả thời giờ mà họ cũng chẳng bắt được con cá nào. Nhiều lần trong cuộc sống của chúng ta không nhận ra Chúa. Nhưng khi chúng ta phải mang những gánh nặng của cuộc sống, hay khó khăn trong cuộc đời, chúng ta mới chạy đến nhà thờ, tìm Chúa. Còn những khi chúng ta thành công trong cuộc sống, chúng ta tự nghĩ rằng chúng ta thành công là do sức lực, tài trí riêng của mình, chứ không phải đó là ân sủng của Thiên Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta một cách đặc biệt. Cũng như các môn đệ thửa xưa, nếu chúng ta biết lắng nghe tiếng Chúa sai bảo chúng ta, chắc chắn trong những lúc đó, chúng ta sẽ nhận ra sự yếu đuối nơi con người của chúng ta, chúng ta mới cảm thấy sự bất lực, và chúng ta mới “sực nghĩ” ra rằng chúng ta không phải là Thiên Chúa mà chúng ta chỉ là một tạo vật đã được Thiên Chúa tạo nên và chúng ta luôn cần đến sự can thiệp của Thiên Chúa. Và chính nhờ đó mà chúng ta mới có thể cảm nhận được đức tin và nhận ra rằng "đó là Chúa Kitô đó!"
"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Chúa là sự sống lại và là sự sống. Xin Chúa tăng thêm lòng tin của chúng con vào sự phục sinh của Chúa và chân lý! Xin cho chúng con đừng bao giờ phải giờ nghi ngờ về lời hứa ban sự sống của Chúa và cũng đừng để chúng con đi lạc và đánh mất sự hiện diện của Chúa"
It is the Lord! It is important to recognize the Lord when he comes.
Many times we don't recognize him at all. It is only when heavy and impossible crosses come our way when we discern the presence of the Lord. When we have problems that we can solve, we attribute our success to our own brilliance and intelligence without God's help. But when the problems are too difficult and really exhaust all our strength, after trying everything and still failing, then we remember to ask God.
It is when we have tried "fishing the whole night and caught nothing" that we realize our weakness and humanity. We discover that we are not God. That is why in this important crossroad, we can jump into faith and realize that " It is the Lord!"
you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead. John 21:12–14
The appearances of Jesus after His Resurrection were cloaked in mystery. Not a mystery of confusion, but spoke to them from the shore after they had been fishing all night without catching anything. He told them to try again and to throw the net over the right side of the boat. They did so without even realizing that it was Jesus Who was speaking to them. But upon catching more than they could handle, they realized it was the Lord.
The “mystery” present in this resurrection appearance has many aspects. Why did the disciples not recognize Jesus at first? Why did Jesus instruct them to throw the net over the right side of the boat? Why was Jesus made known through this catch of one hundred and fifty-three large fish? Why was Jesus cooking breakfast for the disciples on the shore? And why did John record that “none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’” Though all of these mysteries have answers that have been offered over the centuries by the saints and great Scripture commentators, it’s useful to also simply ponder the fact that Jesus’ resurrection appearances were, indeed, cloaked in mystery.
In a mystery novel, the reader is given various vague clues to help them try to figure out the mystery and solve it. The clues are vague intentionally so as to make the solving more enjoyable and challenging. However, when it comes to a “mystery of faith,” such as the mystery of faith surrounding Jesus’ resurrection appearances, the mystery is of an entirely different sort. In these cases, the mystery is one of depth and breadth and is something that has the potential to draw us deeper and deeper into the infinite nature of God and His saving action.
Take, for example, this one line quoted above: “And none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they realized it was the Lord.” It appears that the disciples gathered around Jesus as He was preparing breakfast on the shore and sat there in awe of Him. Their silent awe of Him in this appearance reveals that words are not sufficient. Normally, when you see someone whom you are happy to see, you greet them and start talking, asking them how they are, etc. But here, the disciples remained in this holy awe, listening to Him, receiving this meal and pondering the mystery of His resurrected presence.
Reflect, today, upon the ways that our Lord comes to you. It’s easy to miss Him since His ongoing presence in our lives is also mysterious. Imagine if the disciples would have ignored Jesus’ call to “Cast the net over the right side of the boat…” If they would have ignored that command, they may have never come to realize it was the Lord. Reflect upon the ways that our Lord speaks to you. Do you respond? Do you recognize Him? Do you allow yourself to be drawn into this holy awe of His divine presence? Follow the example of the disciples and be on the lookout for the ongoing presence of our Lord all around you.
My divine Lord, You are constantly present to me, day and night, and yet I so often fail to perceive You and adore You. Help me to become more aware of Your presence in my life. As I do, help me to enter more deeply into these holy mysteries with love, devotion and awe. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. How Many Resurrection Appearances? John gives us a clue as to how many times Jesus appeared to his disciples as a group in the 40 days between his resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven. John tells us that the appearance on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee) was “the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples.” The first appearance, to the group of disciples, was on Easter Sunday. The second was a week later, once again on Sunday. The risen Jesus indicated several times that his disciples were to go to Galilee. Since it took almost a week to walk from Jerusalem to Capernaum, the third appearance, narrated in today’s Gospel, likely took place on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath rest and a night of fishing. If the appearances of Jesus continued to take place on Sundays, we can postulate that the fourth appearance was the one that took place on an unnamed mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20). A fifth likely corresponds the appearance to the 500 narrated by Paul (see 1 Corinthians 15:6). After the Apostles traveled back to Jerusalem in preparation for the Feast of Pentecost, a sixth appearance could likely have taken place on Sunday in Jerusalem. A seventh and final appearance was on Ascension Thursday, forty days after the resurrection. Now, we can only speculate about the number, timing, and places of the resurrection appearances after the third, but since the first two took place on Sunday and since we have to account for a week-long journey to Galilee, John could be hinting at something by numbering the first three appearances. Both John’s Gospel and the Book of Revelation employ the number seven, a number that was symbolic of the covenant. And so, seven resurrection appearances make sense.
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