A Wondrous Catch

He said to them,

"Cast the net to 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 there were so many fish.

 

This installation illustrates the “marvelous draught of fish” – a story that happens twice in the ministry of Jesus.

      On the earlier occasion, we read in Luke 5:1 – 11 that Jesus gets into the boat of some fishermen and teaches the crowd from the boat. He then instructs the fishermen to let down their nets for a catch. Simon Peter answers that they have been fishing all night without catching any fish. “Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” They then catch so many fish that their nets begin to break. Jesus tells James, John, and Simon Peter that they will now be catching people, not fish. When they bring their boats to shore, they leave everything to follow Jesus.

      The second telling of this miracle, in John 21:1 – 8, seems to recall the first catch. In this telling, Jesus has been resurrected. He stands on the beach before his disciples, but they do not recognize him. Again, they have been fishing unsuccessfully and Jesus instructs them to cast from the other side of the boat. They obey and catch so many fish that they can not haul the net back in. And now they recognize their Lord. 

Perhaps this is Jesus’ way of reaffirming their original call. After his death, the disciples have been lost and aimless without the guidance of their Lord. Could  this second occurrence of a miraculous catch be intended to remind and redirect them back to the business of catching people?