Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He called out to them, \u201cFriends, haven\u2019t you any fish?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d they answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said, \u201cThrow your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.\u201d When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, \u201cIt is the Lord!\u201d As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, \u201cIt is the Lord,\u201d he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, \u201cSimon son of John, do you love me more than these?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, Lord,\u201d he said, \u201cyou know that I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus said, \u201cFeed my lambs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again Jesus said, \u201cSimon son of John, do you love me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He answered, \u201cYes, Lord, you know that I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus said, \u201cTake care of my sheep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third time he said to him, \u201cSimon son of John, do you love me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, \u201cDo you love me?\u201d He said, \u201cLord, you know all things; you know that I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus said, \u201cFeed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.\u201d Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, \u201cFollow me!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I wonder if you have ever had the experience of going back to somewhere you know well after a long time. Maybe going back home after time at uni \u2013 maybe going back to the place you used to live \u2013 or the school you went to\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter and his friends were a bit unsure what to do. They had had the amazing experience of seeing Jesus, alive again. They had gone back to Galilee as they had been told, but now what? So they went back to what they knew \u2013 fishing. This had been their life \u2013 but so much had changed in the last three years. I wonder what thoughts went through their minds that night, out on the lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, in the morning, they relive another experience from their past. Having caught nothing all night, a mysterious stranger instructs them to try again, and they catch a huge haul of fish. For one of the disciples the penny drops \u2013 and then Peter gets it \u2013 and being Peter he puts on his clothes and then jumps into the water to get to Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus is cooking breakfast on the beach. They are sharing food together again. But so much has happened since they were last in this place together. And perhaps Peter feels it especially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Jesus takes Peter aside, he must be wondering what Jesus will say. One of the last things he said to Jesus was to promise that he would never desert him \u2013 and then after the arrest, all that resolve disappeared and in concern for his own safety he said \u2018I don\u2019t know this man\u2019 \u2013 three times over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus does not dodge around what has happened. He doesn\u2019t pretend that things can just return to how they were. He seems to want to remind Peter not just about what he did, but about who he really is and what is the fundamental the truth is about their relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So three times, he says to Peter \u2018Do you love me\u2019. He knows the answer, but he wants Peter to say it. Peter does \u2013 eventually saying \u2018Lord, you know all things \u2013 you know that I love you\u2019. Jesus is helping Peter to see that this is the real truth about their relationship \u2013 about who he is. Facing up to his empty bluster and then his frightened denial can lead him into a new depth in his discipleship \u2013 one which will prepare him for his role of leading the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A friend of mine sent me some thoughts on the resurrection last week. He talked about how what Jesus accomplished on the cross reminded him of the Repair Shop. Someone brings something in which is of great emotional value to them, but is broken. Through the hard work and skill of the team, the item is restored, and there is a joyful meeting to hand back the precious object. Our relationship with ourselves, the world, and God, has been broken \u2013 but through the deeply costly labour of the cross, that relationship has been renewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think that\u2019s helpful, but it also reminds me of another picture. In the Japanese art of kintsugi, bowls and plates are repaired not with invisible mends, but with a lacquer mixed with powdered gold, so that the cracks still show. The break is acknowledged, and there is a transformation into something new, something even more beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe that is how it is between us and God. God doesn\u2019t just wipe the slate clean when we are forgiven. If we really face our need for forgiveness and healing, then through God\u2019s grace we are led deeper, to understand that whatever our shallower thoughts and actions have been, our deepest desire is to be held in love by God, and to give ourselves to God in trust and service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our reading ends with Jesus saying to Peter \u2018Follow me\u2019. Since he first said that to Peter so much has happened, and Peter has changed. Now Jesus calls him again, at this new stage of his journey, and in a place of deeper understanding about his own brokenness and about God\u2019s grace. He calls us too, again and again, as we travel through this life with him, growing in our understanding of brokenness and grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have a look at the kintsugi plate. Think about Peter and Jesus \u2013 about new beginnings, forgiveness and grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where might God be calling you to a new beginning with him\u2026?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where do you long for the healing of God\u2019s grace?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is your deepest desire?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s our reading today – two parts of John 21: Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":519,"featured_media":1621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-reflections"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/519"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1623,"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions\/1623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/159\/sites\/431\/2025\/05\/kintsugi.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMerciful God,
in Christ you make all things new;
transform the poverty of our nature
by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory.
<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"