John 21:1–19
After these things Jesus showed himself
again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this
way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin,
Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his
disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him,
‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they
caught nothing.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the
beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them,
‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ 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. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When
Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was
naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat,
dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about
a hundred yards off.
When they had gone ashore, they saw a
charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring
some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and
hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them;
and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come
and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’
because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to
them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus
appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus
said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He
said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my
lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He
said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my
sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’
Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he
said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said
to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used
to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old,
you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you
and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind
of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow
me.’
Reflection
Where is in my own life that I need to take
control?
How is it that I need to be open to a voice
that calls me beyond myself?