Gospel Reading: 
John 21:1-19
"At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.  He revealed himself in this way.  Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples.  Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going fishing.'  They said to him, 'We also will come with you.'  So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.  When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to them, 'Children, have you caught anything to eat?'  They answered him, 'No.'  So he said to them, 'Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.'  So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.  So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord'..."

This reading from the very end of John’s Gospel is absolutely pregnant with messages from God to us.  All the Gospels are filled with God’s words and guidance, but John’s Gospel especially, is filled with what are oftentimes poetic messages from Christ to us.  Everything has meaning.  Things are just not placed in the Gospel in a haphazard manner.  Every number, every thing has meaning. So there are so many things I could preach about, but I won’t preach about them all. The fact that the net was filled, but did not tear, oftentimes is seen as the net representing the Church; it was filled with all these fish, and all these people, and it will expand to fit what ever it needs to be full. 

Many sermons have been given on that number - 153 fish.  Did you catch that?  The net was filled but it did not tear, and in it were 153 large fish.  I spent a few hours researching that online the other day.  It’s fascinating.  There are lots of explanations. I think one of the first explanations was from St. Jerome.  He said that there were 153 different species of fish in the Lake of Galilee.  Therefore, everyone is represented in the Church, but apparently that is just not true, so that theory went out.  There is another one I had not heard before but very interesting.  Someone, actually an army officer after World War I, did a study and found that in the four Gospels, Jesus had blessed 153 people, and he listed them.  I haven’t seen the list, but I thought it would be fascinating.  Being blessed by Christ means you’re in the Church; you’re in the net.   Fabulous.  Then there was this mathematical theory, some of you would love it.  I couldn’t understand it.  It had things to the third power and prime numbers and all this stuff.  I’ve learned a few lessons now that I’ve been here almost two years now with you, and I am learning not to ask people what they do for a living!  Because they tell me and I don’t know what they’re talking about, and then they describe their work and I go, “Oh, wow.”  I love the UPS guy.  I understand what that man does.  His name is Mike and Rick is the other guy.  One day I want to drive the Big Brown Truck.  That’s my goal in life.  Anyways, if you’re curious, google up 153 fish and have a ball. 

I want to talk about one other aspect of this Gospel.  I’m not sure if you caught it or not.  Perhaps you did.  Did you notice that the disciples, the apostles, who were Jesus’ confidants and friends, didn’t recognize him.  Did you take notice of that?  Now it was dawn, it was light, and Jesus was at the shore, and when they saw him they joined him.  Then it says,  “They dared not ask who he was, for they knew it was the Lord.”  What is that all about?  It’s not only here we see that.  In other places, on the day of the resurrection, Mary Magdalene encountered the gardener.  She went to the tomb and it was empty, and there was a man there, and it was Christ.  She thought he was the gardener.  She said, “Sir, what have you done with the body?  Let us know so we can recover it.”  He went, “Mary” and when she heard his word, she recognized it was Jesus.  Some scripture scholars say her eyes were full of tears and it was dark.  As far as the scripture story today, some scholars say, well, it was dawn, and it was probably overcast and dark.  I don’t buy that.

Of course, the most interesting one is in the 24^th chapter of Luke’s Gospel.  On the day of the resurrection, the two disciples, friends of the Lord, were on their way to Emmaus, the town west of Jerusalem.  You know that story, beautiful story.  So Jesus encounters them and joins up with them on their walk.  You can imagine how the conversation went:  “Hey, how are you doing?”  Jesus says, “What are you talking about?”  They tell him about what had happened, and He says, “What thing, what happened?”  And they say, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who does not know what happened these last few days?”  That’s pretty funny.  They say this to the Lord.  I think he knew what had gone on.  So then Jesus explained all the Hebrew Scriptures to them and he opened the word of God to them and their eyes were opened.  They were fascinated by him.  They said, “Spend the night with us.”  Finally they recognized him when he broke the bread in the Holy Eucharist and then he disappeared from their midst.  One scholar said they didn’t recognize him because they were heading west and the sun was setting and they were blinded.  They really go to some extent, and the reason people want to find some reason why they couldn’t recognize Christ is that we know Christ rose in his body, and it wasn’t his glorified body.  The transfiguration of Christ was in glory; it would have blown them away.  This wasn’t his glorified body; it was truly his body.  We believe in the resurrection of the body, your body.  That thing you’re carrying around with you today will be raised up with you on the last day, not a different body. 

So there’s a mystery here.  Do you want to know the answer?  I have no idea.  But maybe there is a purpose for the mystery.  I think there’s a hint of the reason for this mystery later in this Gospel when we see the interaction between Jesus and Peter.  Now Peter had failed to recognize the Lord publicly.  Right?  He denied him three times.  Now, what is the remedy for that sin?  “Feed my sheep, feed my lamb, tend my lamb.”  The remedy for not recognizing Christ is to recognize Christ in others and care for them.  I think that’s the lesson of this Gospel.  Many Christians practice a private devotional religion – “me and Jesus.”  That’s not what discipleship means.  You cannot be a disciple if you do not recognize Jesus in others.  That starts of course, with your family.  If you don’t find Christ in your spouse, your children or your parents, it’s not likely you’ll find him at work or on the streets.  Sometimes people are kinder and more concerned about people outside the home than their own relatives.  It has to start in the home.  Discipleship is not a private affair.  It involves how we deal with other people.  Indeed, that is the criteria for judgment.  Matthew 25 says, ”What you have done for the least of my brothers, you have done for me.  And what you have not done for the least of my brothers and sisters, you have not done for me.  And those who have not done will go off to eternal punishment and those who serve me and others will go to their eternal reward.” 

There are some beautiful stories and legends about people encountering the Christ in others.  One of them that come to mind is St. Francis and the leper. Before St. Francis of Assisi’s great conversion, he encountered a leper and was repulsed by him, by the sight of him and the smell of him.  But Francis knew that this man was conceived in God’s image and threat he must try to respect him so he gave him some money, he embraced him, and he kissed him.  He got back on his horse and he turned around and the man was nowhere to be seen.  Francis believes that was Christ and I believe that actually happened. 

There is another story that may be legend, and that is of St. Martin and the beggar.  St. Martin was a Roman army officer.  One night he was riding home in his new cavalry cloak when he saw a poor beggar shivering with the cold.  He cut his cape in two and gave half of it to the beggar to keep warm. Than night, in a dream, Martin dreamt that he saw Jesus dressed in this cloak and He told the angels,  “This is Martin’s cloak.  And he is only a catechumen.”  Martin was baptized shortly thereafter. 

The beauty of those stories is that we do encounter Christ in others.  But aren’t we still like the disciples.  I know I am.  I confess to you.  I don’t see Christ in others all the time.  Sometimes I don’t even try to see Christ in others, especially the difficult people, perhaps those who are sick and indifferent and those who are alienated.  This country has got to answer questions at the judgment because we do not recognize Christ in the womb.  Make no mistake about that, that’s just not another Catholic teaching.  We are conceived in the image of Jesus Christ, from the moment of conception.  If we fail to recognize him in the womb where he is most vulnerable, then I think we have some questions to answer on the judgment day.  We cannot be prejudiced.  We must help those in need.  We must be concerned for the less fortunate, a concern that leads to action.  You will meet Jesus this week, in the home, or at work.  You’ll meet the spirit of God in others.  Love them and respect them.  Your eternal life depends on it, as does mine.