So Christ is risen, but what now?
Jesus had risen, the Festival of Unleavened Bread was over, and the disciples were unsure what to do. They returned to Galilee. Seven apostles, including the most prominent in memory, were gathered together, doing a whole lot of not much. Peter decided to go fishing. The others had nothing better to do, so they tagged along. Jesus had risen, but what now?
Why go fishing, besides that Peter mentioned it? The sons of Zebedee, James and John, had been fishing partners with Simon before the Lord called them (Luke 5:10). Perhaps they thought they should restart the business to support themselves. The fact that they went at night would seem to favor that notion. Fish caught during the night could be sold fresh in the morning. Maybe, though, they were simply hungry. Maybe they were just bored. We’re not told. The Lord had risen, but what now?
Do you ever feel like the apostles? Do you ever wonder what’s next? Life is full of “what now” moments. All of us find ourselves sometimes chilling with family or friends, just doing life, and wondering what we should be doing instead. “What now?” is a regular and important part of life.
The apostles knew Jesus had risen, just as we know. John makes clear that Jesus has appeared to the disciples several times by this point. There was no doubt about Easter, but the apostles were quite unsure about what came next. Jesus had certainly spoken about their coming ministry, but we have to cut the apostles some slack: after all, they’d been through a lot lately, and the resurrection was a lot to take in. Moreover, sometimes Jesus wasn’t big on connecting all the dots for them.
The apostles were unsure about what to do next, so they went fishing. That’s what we know. And they had a lousy night. They caught nothing. Amateurs don’t like catching nothing. Surely these professionals were frustrated. And then someone on shore presumably wanted to rub it in. “Children,” he said—an odd way to address strangers. “Children, do you have any fish?” “Nope,” they answered. And now he had some advice for them. He told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, as if they hadn’t thought of that before. And yet they did it.
We can sometimes be hard on the apostles, so here I think it’s good to give credit where credit is due. The apostles didn’t argue with the man. They didn’t ask for his credentials. They didn’t tell him it had been a long night and they were tired and they were, after all, professional fishermen. They simply did what he said. They listened, and good on them.
The “what now” became a “right now.”
They listened and the man’s word did what he promised: they found fish—a lot of them. They found so many that they couldn’t haul in the net. This was enough to convince John. He told Peter, “It is the Lord!” This is a very John and Peter interaction, but that’s for another time. John told Peter and what did Peter do? He got dressed and jumped into the sea. He left the other apostles to worry about the fish and hurried to the Savior. The “what now” became a “right now.”
When they got to shore, Jesus had the grill going. He asked for some of the fish so he could feed them. He has spoken, and now he fed. “Come and have breakfast,” he told them, and they ate. And the disciples knew who he was, although they were too scared to say it. A long night had become a joyous morning.
So Christ is risen, but what now? We are called to do the same as the apostles. We are called to listen and eat. We’re even called, like Peter, to get wet. Whether we have business to do, we’re hungry, or we’re bored, Christ calls us with his promise and he prepares a meal for his baptized children.
A lot of the, “what now,” will work itself out, and some of it, Christ will take care of. As his child, Christ will always call you with his promise. He’ll call you again and again into the waters of your baptism. He’ll feed you with his body and blood. And that’s the main stuff. That’s the stuff that puts everything in perspective and makes you who you are no matter what you might have going on.
A lot of life is figuring out what to do with your time. That doesn’t mean your entire future is up in the air, though. No, the most important part is set in stone, carved in the Savior’s hands and feet, written into the Book of Life, prepared in heaven for you, for which you are being prepared now. Busy, hungry, bored, whatever we might be, we are Christ’s children and we have his Word.
