The Mystery of Christ
The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience

by Father Thomas Keating

Chapter 2 Part XVII

The Easter-Ascension Mystery

Christ Appears to His Friends at the Sea of Galilee

    On a later occasion Jesus showed himself again to the disciples, this time by the Lake of Tiberias. He did so under the following circumstances: Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples happened to be together. Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." "We will go with you," they replied. 
    So they set out and got into the boat and during the entire night they caught nothing. But just as day was breaking Jesus stood on the beach. The disciples did not know, however, that it was Jesus. "Well, lads," Jesus said, "have you any fish?"
    "No," they replied. 
    "Cast your net to the right of the boat," he said to them, "and you will find something." They cast it and now they were not strong enough to haul it up into the boat because of the great number of fish in it.
    Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Master!" As soon as Peter learned that it was the Master, he girt his upper garment about him and plunged into the lake. Meanwhile, the other disciples came in the boat--for they were not far from the shore, only about two-hundred yards--dragging along the net full of fish. 
    When they had come ashore, they noticed hot embers on the ground, with fish lying on the fire, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you caught just now." So Peter boarded the boat and hauled the net up on the beach. It was full of fish, 15 3 in all, and in spite of the great number the net did not break. "Come now," Jesus 'said to them, "and have breakfast:" Not one of his disciples could find it in his heart to ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Master: 
    Then Jesus approached, took bread in his hands, and gave them of it: He did the same with the fish. 
    This was now the third time Jesus showed himself to the disciples after he had risen from the dead
[John 21:1 - 14]
Gospel of the Third Sunday of Easter

    This text has an unmistakable nostalgia about it. One senses the leisurely pace of this third appearance of Jesus to the apostles. 

    Some of the apostles had gathered together in their old home town. He had said to them, "I go before you into Galilee There you will see me." So they went back home according to his instructions and were hanging around their old haunts by the Lake of Tiberias, where they had earned their living before Jesus had called them out of their respective businesses to join him in proclaiming the reign of God.

    Jesus had said he would meet them there, but where was he? Peter said to the other disciples, " How about going for a catch?" The other disciples said, "Fine, we'll go with you."

    So they got into a boat and rowed out into the middle of the lake. They fished all day without a nibble. Twilight came, no bites. Night fell, and they were still sitting in the middle of the lake waiting for a catch. They tried their nets first on one side and then on the other. They rowed up and down the lake. It got darker and darker. The moon rose and set, and still they remained out on the lake. If was a night full of effort but no fish. 

    As they waited for the dawn, they grew more and more disgruntled. They were tired, cold and irritable. They had long since given up talking and sat slumped in the boat, glowering at the lake. They were now only a few hundred yards offshore. All at once, on the beach, emerging slowly from the shadows, was the outline of a man. As the light increased, the stranger became more and more visible. After a long time he called out to them in a friendly manner, "Lads, did you catch anything?" 

    They exchanged a few knowing glances. Couldn't this man figure out that a boatload of fishermen would not be sitting there at that hour if they had caught anything?

    So they shouted back, "Naw!" The stranger, not put off by their unfriendly response, called back, "Try casting your net to the right side of the boat. Then you will catch something."

More information can be obtained by reading the book The Mystery of Christ by Fr. Thomas Keating.  It is offered in our Book Store.