NOTES for Jn 21:1-14

Today’s passage shows us how the disciples changed during the three years they spent with the Teacher. They became a close-knit family, brothers who hasten to help one another—as we can see in the way they respond to Peter’s words (John 21:3). Yet despite this unity, the Lord grants them no catch. The failure must serve something greater. Before us is a scene we have seen before: tired and empty-handed, the fishermen see Jesus standing on the shore and hear His request to cast their nets (Luke 5:4-6). And as on that previous occasion, they do not know Who stands before them. Now He is far away and they simply fail to recognize Him; the previous time, they did not know what to expect from this Man. But these people are no longer merely fishermen; they are already apostles. Over three years, the disciples have learned to receive and to “see” a person, recognizing God and His presence in that person. They have learned to value every individual, paying attention to actions and feelings. That is why they now do without delay what they resisted the previous time. And they recognize the Lord. In the same way, what we resist in our own lives sometimes proves to be the very thing that will bring Jesus into our home...